What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
by caseymac42
Summary: Unbeknownst to Johnny, embarking on his newest relationship has some pretty serious consequences.
1. Chapter 1

**What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (Chapter one)**

**Author's Notes:** In this story, Dixie McCall took the Nursing Supervisor's job that she had been offered. The story takes place in the late 1970's…Roy and Johnny hadn't yet taken a promotion to captain.

With the calendar saying February, it was a week before Valentine's Day. Arriving at the station on a Monday morning, Johnny entered the locker room in great spirits.

"Good morning, Roy. A beautiful morning, isn't it?"

Roy observed Johnny for a few moments, marveling at the junior paramedic's great mood.

"What have you done with my partner?" Roy asked, still surprised at Johnny's rather upbeat mood.

When he was met by only a big grin, Roy whistled.

"Boy…you must've had yourself quite a weekend. Could it be a girl that is responsible for your good mood?"

"What makes you say that?" replied Johnny with a mysterious grin plastered on his face.

"Let's just say I know your track record, Johnny. Anyone I know?"

The junior medic shook his head. "I'm not going to discuss it."

"Now? Here? Or with me?"

"Now…here…OR with you, Roy…my lips are sealed."

"She must really be some lady."

Still wearing the same grin, Johnny momentarily forgot that he had told his partner that his lips were sealed. "She sure is. She's smart, fun, and attractive. I'm a new man, my friend. Why are you so interested in my love life, anyway?"

"Because when you're happy…it makes the shift easier to get through…for ME, and for everyone else. Besides, I know how much you love kids. And in order for that to happen, you need to find a nice girl to settle down with and marry."

"Hey…wait a minute. Who said anything about marriage or fatherhood?"

Coming into the locker room, Chet heard the last thing out of Johnny's mouth, and jumped to conclusions.

"Fatherhood? Johnny, what did you do?"

Rolling his eyes at the Irishman, Johnny sighed loudly and shook his head.

"As usual Chet, you came in on the end of a conversation. Anyway, we were talking about marriage and fatherhood. I was about to say that I love your kids, Roy…but the beauty of it is that after I spend time with them, I can go home to the peace and quiet of my own place."

"How about you. Chet?"

"How about me what, Roy?" Chet repeated with some confusion.

"What's your take on marriage and fatherhood?"

"Marriage and fatherhood? They are both wonderful things…for someone else. Me, I like my freedom too much. I echo Johnny's sentiments. I enjoy spending time with my own nieces and nephews…but yeah, then I can go home to my apartment, and know that I have the freedom to do whatever I want to."

The three men finished changing for the start of their shift, and then went out to the squad room, where they joined Mike, Marco, and Captain Stanley who were already sitting at the table.

"Good morning, Cap. How's the best captain in the department doing today?"

Hank looked suspiciously at Roy. "Uh, what's with your partner?"

"Just go with it, Cap. Apparently he had a great weekend." Roy then turned his head and winked at Johnny.

After roll call, and the usual announcements and chore assignments, the two paramedics were in the bay area, checking their supplies, and the squad.

"Someone at Rampart?"

"I'm not going to answer that, Roy."

"That new nurse on the fourth floor?"

"Vickie? No…nice girl, but not my type."

"Ashley…Staci…Kristy…Karen?"

"No…no…no…and no. Look, you'll find out eventually. I just want to keep it low key and so does she. And…should this thing really work out…everyone will know about it. You're really scaring me, Roy…you're acting like me."

"It couldn't possibly be someone at another hospital…could it?"

Johnny shot his partner a slightly irritated glance. "Just drop it…please."

In the middle of their conversation, the alarm went off.

"Squad 51…woman injured…4625 Aston Street…cross street Cooper."

Since Roy had been the closest to the radio, he jumped up and responded on the microphone.

"Squad 51 responding, KMG-365."

When they arrived at the address, a modest white house with green shutters, they were met by the police officer on scene.

"What do we have, Andy?" Roy asked as he and Johnny started to pull out various pieces of equipment from the squad.

"Doesn't seem too serious, Roy…a woman who hurt her foot. She's downstairs."

With their equipment in tow, the two paramedics followed the officer inside, and down to where their victim was.

Johnny squatted down and smiled as he got to the young lady…a very pretty brunette.

"Hi there. I'm John Gage and this is my partner Roy DeSoto. What's your name?"

"Lisa…Lisa Davidson," she replied in some discomfort.

"What seems to be the problem, Lisa?"

"Well…I started to do my morning workout. As you can see, I have this big heavy punching bag here…well, I went to kick the bag, and hurt my ankle. It really hurts."

"Okay, just try to relax…we'll take good care of you."

Roy gently examined Lisa's foot and ankle. "I'm sorry to say, but I think it's broken. We're going to have to take you to Rampart to get it checked out."

"Damn…damn…damn. I'm in my best friend's wedding in two weeks…I'm her maid of honor. If it's broken…I'm going to look absolutely ridiculous up there in the church."

"Sorry 'bout that."

Roy got on the bio-phone to Rampart. Once they reported their patient's injury and vitals, they were able to splint up her leg, and ready her for transport.

When the ambulance attendants came into the house, Andy met them and led them down to where Lisa was.

Once she was on the stretcher and outside, Johnny smiled warmly at her.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm alright…just feel stupid."

"There's nothing to feel stupid about…these kinds of things happen all the time. Roy, I'll go with her."

"Okay, see you at Rampart."

At the hospital, after helping to get Lisa all settled in the treatment room, Johnny again smiled at her.

"Just try to relax…you're in good hands."

Lisa returned Johnny's smile with an appreciative one of her own. "Thank you."

Walking over to the base station, he met Anna, a popular nurse who had taken over Dixie's position as Head ER Nurse, upon her promotion to Nursing Supervisor, several years earlier.

"Coffee, Johnny?"

The paramedic smiled at the attractive brunette. "Yes, please," then added very softly, "when Roy gets here, you're going to get an earful."

"Don't worry, he won't hear anything from me." After winking, she added, "It's going to be hard…I don't know how long we can keep this a secret."

"We're going to have to use some self-restraint," Johnny replied softly.

When Roy finally arrived, she offered him coffee. "Coffee, Roy?"

"No thanks, Anna. Did you hear the latest?"

"Latest what?" Anna asked, playing dumb.

"My partner here has got himself quite a girl, apparently."

"Really? Why Johnny, how come you didn't tell me?" asked Anna, continuing the charade.

"Just trying to keep it quiet for a while…it's no big deal. Roy is just trying to make it into one."

"Well…all I can say is…she must really be something. He hasn't stopped smiling yet, and he's got that very dangerous gleam in those brown eyes of his."

"Johnny?" Anna looked over at him questioningly.

"As I said, Anna…I'm not really at liberty to discuss it at this point in time, but when I am…you'll be one of the first ones to know, okay?"

Anna stood there smiling. "It's very convenient, don't you think? A new love interest, right before Valentine's Day?"

Not wanting to elaborate any further, Johnny lifted up the radio that he had in his hand. "Squad 51 available at Rampart."

"Ten-four, 51."

"Well…we'll see ya later, Anna," Roy replied casually.

Johnny and Anna exchanged knowing looks, and then the paramedic went to follow his partner back to the squad.

In the squad, while Roy was driving, Johnny sat staring out his window…thinking about his recent glorious weekend.

On Friday morning, Johnny and Anna had run into each other at the supermarket. After a long conversation, Anna invited Johnny over to her place for dinner. Johnny agreed to come over, and the two of them had a lovely meal. After a few drinks out on her deck, they planned a day out for the next day…Saturday. They spent the day in the mountains, hiking and going for a picnic. When their day out ended, they each returned to their respective homes to shower and change, with Johnny agreeing to meet Anna back at her house.

Johnny took Anna out to dinner at a quiet little Italian place on the beach, and after dinner, they went for a walk on the beach. Holding hands, they had continued to have good conversation. Whether it was the stars, the moon, or the sea air, they suddenly stopped and without thinking, kissed…a very passionate kiss. When they returned home, with neither one of them wanting the night to end, Anna took a leap of faith, and invited Johnny to stay the night…he accepted.

After spending all day Sunday together, talking and playing board games…Anna beat him at both Monopoly and Scrabble, they finally said good-bye to each other. And after another very passionate kiss, Johnny returned home, unable to get Anna off of his mind…and the feeling was definitely mutual.

"Earth to Johnny…come in, Johnny."

Johnny looked over at his partner blankly.

"I'm sorry…did you say something, Roy?"

"Oh brother…are you in trouble, partner. You got it bad."

"What are you talking about?" came Johnny's reply.

"I've never seen you this excited about a girl before, Johnny. If I didn't know better…I'd say that this is the one."

"Huh? Look…I like her a lot, but I never said anything about marriage."

Johnny was starting to get a little flustered. He knew in the past that he did tend to be a bit out there with the information that he had shared about his relationships, but this relationship was different…and Anna was not the same typical girl that Johnny had dated in the past.

"Deny…deny…deny."

When they returned to the station, they were met by Captain Stanley.

"Hi fellas. Guess what just arrived?"

Roy shrugged his shoulders and looked questioningly at his captain.

"I give up. What?"

"The incident reports," Hank said dryly.

"Yeah? What does that mean to me…or me and Johnny?"

"Well…guess whose turn it is to work on them?"

"Johnny's?" The senior medic asked hopefully.

Johnny shook his head. "No, not me…I did them two weeks ago. I think he's referring to you, good buddy." Johnny then playfully slapped his partner on the back. "That's what you get for prying."

"My office is all ready for you, Roy."

After Hank walked away to return to the chess game that he had been in the middle of playing with Mike, Johnny turned to face his partner and grinned.

"I'll tell you what, partner…the way I am feeling right now, I'll even help you."

Marco, who had come out to the bay area, looked at Johnny with concern when he had heard the paramedic's offer to his friend.

"You feeling okay, Johnny? The incident reports…you're willing to help do them?"

Chet also appeared in the bay. "Oh, that's right, Marco…you weren't in the locker room this morning when we had quite an interesting discussion about love, marriage, and fatherhood. You see, apparently our superstar paramedic has got himself quite the gal."

"She must really be something, Johnny. You're so giddy with happiness…that you actually agreed to help Roy with the incident reports."

"Come on, Pally…let's get this over with."

Johnny started to pull Roy by his arm in the direction of their captain's office.

When they got to the office and were well into their task, Roy looked up at his partner.

"You're sure you won't tell me who she is?"

"I told you no, Roy. Now stop pestering me, or you're on your own with these things."

They were able to work on the reports without interruption, and after an hour and a half, the two paramedics were out back talking.

Inside, Hank and the rest of the crew were talking amongst themselves.

"I gotta agree with you guys…this must be some lady. I've never seen Johnny so happy or relaxed. Any ideas on who this mystery lady could be?"

Chet shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know, Cap. Roy's been trying to work on that all morning…to no avail. I don't think we're going to get anything out of him this time."

The alarm went off, calling the station, along with other stations, to a structure fire.

Arriving on scene, the crew noted that it was a big office building on fire.

Captain Stanley shouted out orders to his men, as well as the other newly arriving engines.

After a very stressful two hours, the fire was under control. As there were no major injuries, Roy and Johnny were released from the scene.

"Cap, Johnny and I are going to head to Rampart for supplies."

"Okay…see you fellas later."

When the paramedics arrived at the ER, they were greeted by Dr. McGrath…a longtime ER doctor, who along with Brackett and Early, was also a big part of the teaching of the first several paramedic classes.

"Hello there, fellas. Glad to see that you two are still in one piece."

Roy smiled at the doctor. "You ain't kidding, doc. It was a pretty rough one."

"Supplies?" asked Anna nonchalantly.

Johnny smiled and handed her a list. "Yes, please."

"All those people and no serious casualties…that was pretty lucky," commented the doctor.

"Yeah…they sure were."

"I don't mean to be a grouch, but can we just have the supplies. I'm starving and desperately want to take a shower," said Roy in an unusual display of irritation.

"You go wait in the squad, Roy. I'll take care of the supplies."

"Okay…don't take too long."

Johnny tried his best to look innocent. "I'll try not to."

Roy left to go back out to the squad, and Anna continued to work on getting the requested supplies.

"I'm glad you're alright, Johnny."

The paramedic grinned. "That makes two of us." Touching Anna's hand, and speaking very softly, Johnny added, "If we're going to do this…you know all about the risks of the job."

"I know…but it doesn't mean I'm not still going to worry about you. When it comes to you and that partner of yours…I've always been concerned."

"Yeah, I know. Well, I gotta get going…thanks for the supplies…I'll catch you after the next run."

"I'll be here," Anna answered with a knowing smile.

After Johnny returned to the squad and put away the supplies, he got into the cab and looked over at Roy who seemed pretty tired.

"You alright, Roy?"

"I'm fine…just hungry. I hope lunch is ready."

"Yeah, that would be great."

"Hey, I'm sorry to have been a grouch back there. I guess that fire kind of got to me. It could have been really bad."

"I know…and not you, Roy…you're never grouchy."

Roy looked over at his partner and smiled.

"By the way, thanks for helping me with the reports this morning, Johnny."

"Ahh…it was nothing…just helping my best friend," said Johnny with a wave of the hand.

"Tell me, you still happy?"

"Yep."

"You're not going to tell me who she is, are you?"

"No chance." Johnny replied shaking his head, and a twinkle in his eyes.

Their radio went off…"Squad 51, respond with Engine 51, and Engine 58…house fire…435 Greenwood Terrace, cross street Evanston."

Johnny picked up the microphone. "Squad 51, responding."

"So much for lunch and a shower." A bummed out Roy commented.

Arriving on scene, the two paramedics were putting on their turnout gear, as Engine 51 pulled up, with Engine 58 on their heels.

A couple in their 30's met them outside.

"It's just us…no one else is inside. My wife and I are fine…the fire's in the basement."

Captain Stanley and Captain Hillman walked over to the two paramedics.

"Cap, everyone's out…the fire's in the basement."

Hank nodded his head at Roy. Seeing the flames shooting out the windows, he shouted out orders to the men.

All the men, including the two paramedics manned the hoses. After 20 minutes, the fire was extinguished. While on clean up in the basement, there was an explosion which threw Johnny very hard against one of the brick walls, knocking him out.

While Marco and Chet, and 58's two linemen manned the hose, Roy quickly ran over to Johnny and, putting him over his shoulder, carried him out.

When he arrived outside, he was met by an anxious Captain Stanley.

"What happened?"

Carefully putting his partner down on the ground, Roy looked up. "There was an explosion."

Hank quickly got on his radio. "LA, Engine 51…we have a Code I at our location…request ambulance."

Mike Stoker and Engine 58's engineer brought over the equipment from the squad.

While Roy went about checking Johnny's vitals and for possible injuries, Hank got on the phone to Rampart.

"Rampart, this is Squad 51…how do you read?"

"Go ahead, 51," replied the voice of Dr. Early.

"We have a Code I at our location. Victim is currently unconscious…stand by for vitals."

As Roy began to take Johnny's vitals, he started to come to, but was still very groggy.

"That's it…wake up, partner."

Johnny looked up at Roy, but was still very unfocused. "Roy?" he called out softly.

"Yeah, it's me, Junior. Just relax…you're in good hands."

Roy tried to keep his partner calm by taking a stab at a little humor, but was only met by a few groans.

Taking over on the phone, Roy relayed Johnny's vitals.

"Stand by for additional information."

Roy examined the rest of Johnny's body, looking for any other injuries, before getting back on the phone.

"Rampart, head injury suspected, but no other injuries noted. Patient is now conscious but very groggy."

Once Roy received the treatment orders, he set about getting the IV ready.

"Johnny, I'm going to insert the IV, now…just try to relax."

Roy knew how out of it his partner was, as evidenced by Johnny barely flinching at the sensation of the IV needle being inserted into his arm.

When the ambulance arrived, Johnny was readied for transport.

As Roy began to help lift Johnny onto the stretcher, Chet and Marco came out, wanting to know how the downed paramedic was doing.

"How is he, Roy? Johnny gonna be okay?"

"He's stable, Chet…but very groggy at the moment. Cap, will someone bring the squad in?"

"Sure. Chet, you wanna bring the squad in. We'll meet you at Rampart as soon as we finish up here."

Roy followed Johnny's stretcher into the back of the ambulance, as Hank handed him the bio-phone and the drug box.

"See you soon, Roy."

After the customary two taps on the closed ambulance doors, the ambulance took off for the hospital, Chet following behind.

Arriving at Rampart, the ambulance doors were opened, and as Johnny's stretcher came into view, Dr. Early was surprised at who their patient was.

"Johnny? Can you hear me?"

"Mmm…hear ya."

"Let's get him to Room 3. What happened, Roy?"

Roy proceeded to tell the doctor what had transpired at the fire, as Johnny was wheeled down the hallway.

"He was out for maybe ten minutes."

"Okay."

As the stretcher was wheeled into the treatment room, Roy stood by to help transfer Johnny onto the exam bed.

"On three…one…two…three."

Once Johnny was transferred, Dr. Early gave out some orders to the nurses.

Entering the room was Anna, who like everyone else had no idea that the Code I was Johnny. She was quite shocked to learn that her new boyfriend was indeed their patient.

Doing her best to keep her composure, Anna set about helping with Johnny's care.

A few minutes after his vitals were re-taken Johnny started to regain full consciousness.

"What…what happened? Where's Roy?"

"Easy Johnny…relax."

Standing so Johnny could see him, Roy smiled at his partner.  
"I'm right here. You were in an explosion and hit your head. You're at Rampart."

Early looked at his patient with concern. "Johnny, do you remember anything about what happened?"

"Yeah…I guess I do. The house fire…basement."

"Yes. We're going to take some x-rays now, and then take you for a CT-scan. Just try to relax."

Dr. Early led Roy out to the hallway, while Anna stayed inside for a few moments.

Johnny had his eyes closed and didn't catch the worried look that Anna had on her face. To the other nurses in the room, it seemed to be a normal reaction, as if any of the other firefighters or paramedics had gotten injured. But the truth remained, that they also knew that Anna had a special fondness for Johnny.

Out in the hall, Roy and Early were quickly joined by a worried Chet Kelly.

"How is he?"

"He should be okay, Chet. We're running some tests now. He's conscious and pretty alert now. Why don't you fellas go have some coffee in the lounge? As soon as I have any news to share with you, I will."

Watching the doctor walk away, Chet turned to Roy.

"He'll really be okay? When I saw him back at the fire…"

Roy nodded his head as if he were reliving the same moment that Chet was referring to. "Yeah…like Dr. Early said…Johnny should be fine."

Roy and Chet made their way to the lounge, where they were joined an hour later by the rest of their crew.

"Any news, Roy?" a concerned Captain Stanley asked.

"Nothing definite yet, Cap. We should know more soon. But he did regain consciousness."

"That's good news."

"Yes…it's very good news."

Another hour and a half later, with Johnny was resting comfortably in his room, Dr. Early came to share the good news with the rest of Johnny's friends.

Even before Roy, the first one to ask the question was Chet. "How is he, doc?"

Joe nodded his head. "He's stable, not to mention very lucky…a rather bad concussion, but no other injuries. He's resting comfortably."

"How long you think he'll be laid up for?" Chet continued with the line of questions.

"He'll be here at Rampart for a few days…then he can go home. He's in Room 211 if you want to see him…just keep it short, he needs his rest."

The guys all arrived at Room 211 to see their injured crewmate.

Johnny, despite still being a little groggy, brightened up at the sight of his friends.

"Hey, you guys remembered me."

"Of course we did, you twit."

"How are you feeling?" Roy asked his partner.

"Well…I got a pretty mean headache, but I guess all things considering, I'm doing okay. Dr. Early says I'll be here for a day or two."

"At least. We're going to get going. You need your rest, and we need to go back to the station and eat. Roy, your temporary partner will be meeting you back at the station."

"Okay, Cap…I won't be long."

After saying good-bye to their friend, the others left, leaving Roy alone with his partner.

"Well, Junior…you did it again…scared the living daylights out of me."

Starting to succumb to medication and tiredness, Johnny started to get very sleepy.

"Sorry, Roy…didn't mean to. But you know what…I'm still happy." Johnny added the last comment with a tired smile.

"Well…I'm glad one of us is. You take care, partner…I'll see you a little later…get some rest."

Johnny nodded his head. "I'll try. Thanks for gettin' me out today."

Roy left Johnny's room and made his way back downstairs to the ER. However, when he approached the base station, he realized that he had left his hand radio upstairs in Johnny's room.

Seeing Roy's somewhat exasperated look, Joe Early looked at Roy thinking something was wrong.

"Roy…everything okay?"

"Oh…yeah, fine. I left my radio upstairs…gotta go back up and get it, but I'm a little pooped out at the moment."

"I hear you. You know, Johnny will be fine. He'll be here for a few days and then should be able to go home."

"Yeah, I know…but thanks for the reinforcement. Guess I'll go back upstairs…see you in a few."

Noting that the coast was clear, Anna was able to sneak upstairs and check on Johnny. She had been so worried about him, but was now very relieved knowing that he would be okay.

Despite Johnny's grogginess, the two of them had had a brief conversation, and were currently in the middle of quite the passionate kiss. Anna was sitting on the edge of Johnny's bed, and the two of them had their arms around each other.

Pushing open the door to his partner's room, Roy was stunned at the sight before him.

"Uh…sorry. I…I just came back for my radio."

Walking over to Johnny's bed, Roy picked up the radio.

Johnny looked up and grinned tiredly. "So…now you know my secret."

"Hey, I couldn't be happier for you guys. I…I should be going."

"Wait…I was going to tell you eventually, Roy. We just…"

"You guys don't owe me any explanation. I can respect your privacy. You guys make a great couple…your secret's safe with me…honest. I'll see you later, Johnny."

Roy smiled embarrassingly and started for the door.

Anna looked back at Johnny for a moment, and then followed Roy out into the hallway.

"Roy…"

"Anna…I'm really happy for you guys. I was just caught off-guard. What I said this morning is true…I've never seen Johnny so happy or relaxed. You guys are two of my favorite people…and you deserve each other. Maybe one day you'll get married and have a bunch of kids."

"Roy…"

"Don't worry…I'll keep it quiet…I'm not one to gossip. See you later, Anna…take care of my partner." Winking, Roy smiled and walked away.

When Anna returned to Johnny, he had his head back and his eyes closed.

"Johnny?"

Opening his eyes, he shook his head slowly. "That's not how it was supposed to come out."

"It's okay…he won't say anything. I gotta get back down to the ER before people become suspicious. I'll check on you a little later."

Anna once again bent down and kissed Johnny.

"Guess that'll have to hold me over till later."

"Yep." Anna responded with a grin.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**


	2. Chapter 2

**What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (Chapter 2)**

When Roy returned to the station, he was met by Mike Stoker, who was still wearing a very anxious expression on his face.

"How's Johnny?" the engineer asked with worry.

Thinking about the recent development that he had inadvertently discovered, Roy smiled knowingly.

"Don't worry about Johnny, Mike…he's doing just fine. He'll be good as new, real quick. I'm starving…anything to eat?"

"In the oven…Marco made his special tacos."

"Great. I'm going to catch a quick shower, first."

When Roy made his way into the locker room, he was greeted by Wes Farrell, the paramedic who would be finishing the rest of Johnny's shift.

"Hi Roy."

"Hey there, Wes."

"How's Johnny doing?" the paramedic asked interestedly.

"He's okay…a bit sore, and he has one hell of a headache…but he'll be fine."

"That's good news. I'll see you out in the squad room…we can catch up then."

"Sure thing," Roy replied with a nod.

After a quick shower, Roy got dressed and joined his temporary partner out in the squad room.

"That was quick, Roy."

"Yeah…well you know how it is, Wes. No time to dilly dally…you just might get caught with your pants down," said the senior medic with a grin.

Walking over to the oven and using a pair of potholders, Roy pulled out the tray of uneaten tacos. Carrying them to the table, he sat down where there was a place setting and poured himself a glass of iced tea.

"Any new ideas on who Gage's new mystery girl might be, Roy?"

The senior paramedic observed Chet for a minute and shook his head.

"No, and we're not going to find out. If he won't tell me…he's not going to tell anyone else. We're just going to have to wait until he tells us."

Wes looked questioningly at Roy.

"What mystery girl, Roy?"

Not giving a chance for Roy to explain, Chet went on to explain the recent topic of discussion to Wes, himself.

"Well, it's like this, Wes…Johnny came to work this morning sickeningly happy. He admitted that it was a girl that he had recently met, but wouldn't elaborate any further on anything beyond that. But then he started talking about marriage and kids..."

"He did not, Chet. You walked in the middle of our conversation."

Wes sat at the table looking fascinatingly at the two firefighters. "So Johnny wants to get married to this woman?"

Putting down the taco that he was just about to take a bite out of, Roy shot Chet a look that told him to be quiet.

"Johnny met someone over the weekend that, yes…made him very happy. In conversations that I have had with him today, until right before he got caught in that explosion…he pretty much alluded that she *could* be the one…but let's not jump to conclusions. We all know that Johnny sometimes has a short attention span when it comes to things."

"Or people," Chet added.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

Through the night Johnny slept comfortably, aided of course by several short visits from Anna.

The next morning, Johnny was sitting up in bed, talking to Roy who came by after an early morning run.

"How are you feeling, Johnny?" Roy asked, hoping that his partner wasn't feeling too badly.

"I'm alright…except for a mean headache. You didn't…" questioned Johnny nervously.

"No, I didn't tell anyone about you and a certain someone."

"I really am sorry for the way you found out, Roy. My intention was to tell you, but we wanted to wait awhile."

"I understand perfectly. You're maturing, Johnny…and that's a good thing."

Johnny smiled and sighed softly. "I guess I am. Who replaced me for the rest of the shift?"

"Wes Farrell. I should get going, Johnny…Wes is waiting for me downstairs. I'll swing by later. Stay out of trouble, partner."

"I'll try…but it's awfully difficult," Johnny replied with a tired smile.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

After spending a few days in Rampart, Johnny was finally discharged.

So as not to raise any suspicions, it was Roy who took Johnny home, but it was Anna who greeted him at his apartment.

"Good morning, Roy," Anna greeted warmly, and with a smile that he knew was largely meant for Johnny.

"Hi there, Anna. Well…he's all yours."

"Aren't you going to stay? I made some lunch."

"No, that's okay…you two need your privacy…I remember how things were at one time. Besides, I need to head back home to Joanne. She has a list of things for me to do. I'll be in touch, Johnny."

Roy gave his partner a wink, and left.

Once Roy was gone, Anna gave Johnny a big hug, and an equally big kiss.

"Whoa. What's that for?" asked Johnny in a very surprised tone.

"Because I am so glad you're okay. That day when I saw you lying in the treatment room and you were so still…"

"I can only imagine how it must've been for you, Anna…but going into this, you knew what the situation was."

"I know…but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with things."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

Over the next few weeks, Johnny and Anna settled into a comfortable arrangement in their relationship. Gradually folks at Rampart, and other paramedics learned of their relationship, and were very supportive of it.

When they were both on duty, it was business as usual, although they were able to steal a moment here and there for a quick kiss.

Returning to the station after a run, Johnny was greeted by Chet.

"I gotta hand it to ya, Gage…Anna…how in the world did you get a babe like her to go out with you…let alone agree to continue seeing you?"

Johnny sighed loudly. "First of all, Chet…yes, she is a babe…but first and foremost, Anna is a woman…a very classy…beautiful…smart…fun woman. And she and I were friends long before we started to go out. So be quiet."

"It seems to me that you're jealous, Chet," replied Marco casually.

"Shut up, Marco. I can have any woman I want."

Marco looked at his friend and shook his head. "I don't believe it."

"Hey…remember those models who had the photo shoot here at the station? They dug me."

Johnny rolled his eyes. "They felt sorry for you, Chet."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

In the course of the next year, Johnny and Anna had taken their relationship to the next level. They had become very serious and Johnny was getting ready to propose to her.

On a Sunday evening, shortly before Valentine's Day, Anna had come over to Johnny's apartment for dinner. She had no idea what Johnny was planning to do, but she had some thoughts of her own.

After a very leisurely dinner, the two of them were sitting on the couch. Johnny was getting ready to pop the question, but Anna dropped a bombshell of her own.

"Johnny…I have something to tell you."

"Sure, what is it? You're…you're not pregnant or anything, are you?" He asked nervously.

"No," came Anna's soft reply.

Noting the extremely serious look on Anna's face, Johnny wasn't quite sure what to expect her to say, but it sure wasn't what was about to come out.

"You know I love you, Johnny, right? You're the best thing that's ever happened to me…but I can't be with you anymore."

Johnny was stunned. "You…you can't be with me anymore? What happened, Anna? I…I thought…I thought this was the real thing. What exactly are you saying?"

"I can't do this anymore. It's too hard. Every time I hear that there's a Code I…or see you on a stretcher coming through the ER doors…all I can think about is how I could lose you. In the last year alone, you had three close calls. That building collapse a few months ago…five firefighters were killed…you almost became number six…you were that close. I love you too much to lose you, but I love you too much to stay with you. I'm sorry, Johnny. I also start my new job at Harbor General in a few days…I'm leaving Rampart. I think it would be for the best."

Johnny was too shocked about everything to say anything. He sat on the couch, trying to comprehend everything that Anna had just told him.

Kissing Johnny one last time, she got up, got her purse and left his apartment.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

That night was a sleepless night for Johnny. He could only lie in bed, staring at the blue velvet box that he had on his night stand…a symbol of what could have been.

The next morning, Johnny arrived at the station very early, 6:30 AM to be exact. After changing into his uniform, he set about brewing fresh coffee.

When the morning tones sounded, signaling one more hour of the shift, he was greeted by his friends on C-shift.

"Johnny, you made fresh coffee."

Smiling tiredly, he nodded his head. "Yeah, I did Clay."

"Thanks, John. By the way, why are you here so early?"

Johnny sighed softly, and looked tiredly up at the captain.

"Guess I was done sleeping. I figured that I'd get an early start. Enjoy the coffee, fellas."

Getting up, Johnny made his way over to the couch and sat down with his cup of coffee resting on his knee.

When Charlie Dwyer and his partner, Matt Thompson, entered the room and glanced over at a very melancholy John Gage on the couch, they walked over to Clay.

"What's going on with Johnny? Why does he look like he just lost his best friend? Nothing happened between him and Roy, did it?"

"I have no idea, Charlie. He's been here since 6:30 or so…made the coffee…and then he sat down. He didn't say much about anything."

Arriving early so he could meet with his C-shift counterpart, Hank entered the squad room, noticing Johnny sitting forlornly on the couch.

"John…what time did you get here, pal?" Hank asked curiously, concerned that something was seriously wrong.

"I don't know…sometime after six, I think," came the toneless reply.

"You okay? You look a little worn out."

"I'm okay, Cap."

"Alright…but if…"

"I'm fine…really," Johnny said with a nod.

Gradually the rest of the A-shift crew arrived. When Roy made his way out to the squad room, he noticed Johnny sitting on the couch, extreme tiredness on his partner's usually expressive face.

"Johnny?" Roy called out softly.

"Hey, Roy. You just get here?"

"Yeah. How about you?"

"I guess I've been here awhile."

Before anything else could be said, Captain Stanley called everyone out to the vehicle bay for roll call.

Sensing something wrong, the crew's usual banter was missing. Hank read through the usual announcements, and handed out the chores, and the men went their separate ways.

As Johnny started to check their supplies, Roy was observing him for a few moments.

"Johnny…if you want to talk…"

Johnny looked at his partner and licked his lips a few times, before softly speaking.

"She broke it off, Roy…said she couldn't handle all the worrying."

"Johnny…I am so sorry. When did this happen?"

"Last night. She was the one, Roy. I was going to propose to her. It gets better…she also decided to take a job at another hospital…Harbor General. She says seeing me all the time would be too hard." Johnny paused a few moments, and then after letting out a small chuckle, continued. "It's ironic, isn't it? People tell me that I'M the one with the reputation…that I can't commit. I'm done…finished. It's going to be a long time before I give my heart to another woman…I wouldn't even try to hold my breath about it."

When the first alarm of the morning went off, it was only for the engine, leaving the two paramedics time and privacy to talk about Johnny's heartache.

"How did it go down, Johnny?" Roy asked, half out of concern, and half out of morbid curiosity.

"She came over to my place for dinner. We had a great evening…but she never said a word, Roy. We were sitting on the couch after dinner, and I was going to propose to her, but then she started talking first. She flat out told me that we couldn't see each other anymore. It was hard to hear for sure, but you know what bothers me the most? The fact that she had the whole year to think about things, and she let it go so long. If she had doubts about us…why the hell didn't she speak up sooner? Boy…do I feel like the world's biggest fool."

"You shouldn't feel like that, Johnny. You did nothing wrong." Roy stood looking at his partner, his blue eyes full of concern over his best friend's misery.

"No, I didn't…but people are going to make some big assumptions about me, and say that it was my fault for Anna leaving Rampart."

"So set them straight. Listen, I won't say anything to anyone about your break-up."

"I don't care, Roy. Everyone's going to find out about it really quick, anyway."

After finishing their supply check, and vehicle inspection, the two paramedics set about doing their morning chores…Johnny, the latrines, and Roy, the dorms.

An hour later, with still no calls for the paramedics, the engine returned.

"You guys are still here?" Chet asked with surprise.

"Yeah…no calls, yet."

"Where's Johnny, Roy?"

"In the locker room, I guess, Cap."

"Is he alright? I thought he looked rather spent this morning."

"Well, Cap…actually the answer to that is no. Anna broke it off with him last night. He's devastated…he was going to propose to her."

Marco shook his head sadly. "Poor guy."

Returning to the squad room, Johnny noted everyone's facial expression.

"Judging by the look on all of your faces…I gather that Roy told you all about my news. So now you know. I'd appreciate it if you guys all just let it go…I'm kind of talked out right now."

Hank nodded his head. "I'm really sorry, Johnny. Just know that we're all here for ya, pal…if you ever do want to talk."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Right now…the best thing for me would be to get a call right now."

As if on cue, the alarm sounded.

"Station 51, traffic accident…corner of Jefferson and Lincoln…timeout 0945."

Arriving on scene, the paramedics quickly surveyed the accident. Two vehicles, a brown sedan, and a blue Volkswagen Beetle had collided.

"I'll take the brown sedan, Roy."

"Okay."

Making his way to the vehicle, Johnny put on his game face and went right to work.

Looking in the car, he was met by a pair of frightened blue eyes.

Putting on a reassuring smile, he carefully opened the front passenger door.

"Hi there. I'm John Gage. I'm a paramedic, and I am going to help you get out of here. What's your name?"

"Claudia," came the scared and soft response.

"Okay, Claudia. Can you tell me where you hurt?"

"My head and shoulder…left one."

While Johnny continued to examine his victim, Roy was at the other vehicle, a blue Volkswagen Beetle, examining the second victim.

After both victims were extricated and their injuries were called in to Rampart, the paramedics set about following their prescribed treatment orders.

"Roy…you go in with them."

Understanding why Johnny didn't want to go in the ambulance, Roy nodded his head in understanding.

After the two women were safely secured in the ambulance, Roy jumped inside.

"I'll meet you at Rampart, Johnny."

As Johnny was stowing away the rest of the equipment, Hank and the rest of the crew stood watching him for a few moments. They could only imagine how much his heart was hurting. When everyone had found out that Johnny was dating Rampart's head ER nurse, they were a little surprised, but quickly realized how great of match the two of them really were. Watching their interaction at get togethers and on a daily basis, they knew how much in love the two of them really were. To know that Anna had broken their friend's heart, Johnny's friends truly felt bad for him.

At Rampart, Roy went in with the two victims, while Johnny, probably against protocol, waited for his partner in the squad.

After helping out in one of the treatment rooms, Roy was at the nurses' desk, getting some supplies.

"You probably hate me for what I did to Johnny."

Roy looked up at Anna. "No, not me…I don't make judgments. I will say you hurt him real bad. I don't condemn you for what you did, Anna…lord knows, my wife deals with the same concerns constantly. I just gotta tell you…your timing really stinks. You broke his heart. Why did you let it go for as long as you did, if you knew how this was going to play out?"

"Because I loved him…I really did," she said softly.

"He was going to propose to you…did you know that?"

Anna's face told Roy that she had had a sense of what was about to come, but broke his best friend's heart any way.

"Here are the supplies I need."

After getting the requested supplies, and putting them in a small box, she handed them to Roy.

"Thanks."

As Roy was about to turn to start walking away, Anna interjected one more thing.

"He's going to be alright, isn't he?"

Roy sighed softly. "You know Johnny…he might bend, but he won't break. He'll be fine eventually…he'll just need some time. See you later."

When Roy got to the squad, he put away the supplies, and got in behind the wheel.

Looking over at his partner, he noted Johnny's glum expression.

"I'm not even gonna ask," Johnny commented softly.

"Good. It's probably better that you don't."

Johnny sighed loudly. "You know what I need? To get away for a while…a vacation."

"Yeah? That sounds like a good idea, Johnny."

"Where to go? Usually I'd go camping or something…but I think I really need to get away-away. You got any ideas, Roy?"

"I think that's your call. You have plenty of time to think about it."

Returning to the station, they were met by the great smells of Marco's cooking.

"Mmmm…Marco's tacos. Come on Roy…let's go eat."

Roy was amazed. Even though he knew how badly Johnny was feeling emotionally, at the moment, his partner was hungry…a pretty good sign.

The two paramedics sat down at the table with the rest of their friends, who had just sat down themselves.

"Cap, do you mind if I put in for some vacation time?"

"No problem. For when?"

"Next week…maybe two weeks."

Exhaling loudly, Hank nodded his head. "Yeah, I think I can swing it. We can take care of the paperwork after lunch."

"Thanks, Cap…I really appreciate it, Johnny replied with a nod.

"So where are you going to go?"

"I don't know, Mike. I just decided this less than an hour ago." Smiling, Johnny then added, "Don't worry about me, fellas…I'm not fragile, you know."

"If anyone knows that, it's us Johnny."

"Thanks, Marco. Anyone got any ideas?"

Getting up, Chet walked over to the telephone and returned to the table carrying a pen and pad.

"Let's write all the ideas down…it'll be easier for you to keep track of."

Offering his two cents right away was Marco. "Mexico…hands down. You'll love it there. A little cottage on the beach…blue skies…clear waters…"

Offering his ideas, Mike chimed in next. "Some island paradise. Jamaica or Bermuda…they'd offer pretty much the same things as Mexico…but you'd be a little further away."

"I don't know how much money you'd wanna spend, John, but what about Europe? Italy and France are beautiful…and think of the great pictures you could take."

"That's a thought, Cap."

"I bet you'd enjoy the Grand Canyon, Johnny. I took Joanne and the kids there a few years ago…it was so beautiful."

Johnny waited for Chet's idea. "Chet?"

"How about a cruise? A different port every few days. That could be pretty interesting."

"Hawaii?"

"Canada?"

Johnny smiled and nodded his head. "Thanks…you guys all gave me some wonderful ideas. I thank you for the in-put."

After lunch, Johnny was in Hank's office filling out the paperwork for his requested time off.

"Two weeks, huh?" Hank said with a soft sigh.

"I really appreciate it, Cap. I just want some time to clear my head. When I come back, I'll be a new man…I promise."

"Just like that? Are you sure it's over, between you and Anna?"

"She made it very clear. I'm not really upset with her for breaking up with me…I'm just mad as hell that she led me on for so long. Roy probably left out the best part…Anna's leaving Rampart to work at another hospital. She says that she couldn't handle seeing me all the time."

"Well, I'm sorry things didn't work out for you, John…I know how happy you were."

"Thanks…it means a lot to have your support, Cap."

"So…you decide where you're going?"

Grinning mysteriously, Johnny shook his head. "I'll let you guys know when I come back."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**


	3. Chapter 3

**What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (chapter 3)**

Two weeks later, Johnny returned to work from his vacation.

The rest of the guys were already in the locker room changing when he arrived.

Smiling as he greeted Johnny, Roy was genuinely happy to see his best friend.

"Hey partner…welcome back. How was your trip?"

"Great…terrific…fabulous…"

Chet observed his favorite pigeon closely for a few moments. "You're certainly not the same person now, that you were when you left two weeks ago."

"Nope…I most certainly am not."

As Johnny started to change into his uniform, Mike asked him about his trip.

"So tell us about your trip, Johnny. Obviously something positive had to have happened…you sure aren't the same person now, as you were two weeks ago."

"I will…we have two days of the shift for me to tell you guys all about it. Right now, we better get a move on or we'll be late."

Out in the squad room, Johnny was met by his captain.

"Welcome back, John. I can tell that your trip agreed with you…the sparkle is back in your eyes. I just have to know…where'd you go?"

"Okay…I'll tell you. I went an Alaskan cruise…it was so beautiful."

Sounding, the alarm called the squad out.

"Squad 51…woman down…4210 Beaverson Boulevard…cross street Hilltop…"

Grabbing the microphone, Hank responded. "Squad 51 responding…KMG-365."

Handing the call slip to Roy, who passed it to Johnny, the squad was on its way.

Arriving on scene, they were met by Vince.

As they were getting their equipment out, Roy was talking to the officer.

"What do we have, Vince?"

"A woman down…she fell from the top of a step ladder….apparently she hit her head on the coffee table."

"Who called for help?" Johnny asked.

"Her daughter Rachel. She's with a neighbor now…she's only four years old."

Arriving inside the house, they immediately went over to the fallen woman. Johnny took her vitals, while Roy called it in.

"What's her name, Vince?" asked Johnny.

"Kathy."

"Kathy…can you hear me?"

Not receiving a response, Johnny shook his head.

"She's really out, Roy."

Looking out the window, Vince noticed that the ambulance was on scene.

"The ambulance is here…I'll go meet them."

Not wanting to frighten the little girl, but wanting to show that her mother was being taken care of, the neighbor came out with Rachel.

Looking up and smiling at the pretty little girl, Johnny was impressed at how calm she appeared to be.

"Is this the brave little girl who called for help?"

Rachel nodded her head, her little blonde curls bobbing up and down.

"Is my mommy going to be okay?" Rachel asked softly, with a look that was half brave, and half scared.

"We're going to take her to the hospital, sweetheart. The doctors there are going to take really good care of her."

The little girl ran over to Johnny and hugged him.

"It's okay, sweetie…everything will be fine."

"I'm Karen Barnes. I called Eric…Rachel's father. He's going to meet us at the hospital."

After loading Kathy into the ambulance, Johnny hopped in after her.

"Meet you at Rampart, partner."

Arriving at the ER, Johnny was very surprised to see that Anna was still there.

Watching from afar as Johnny talked to Rachel was Anna. She started to think about all the conversations that the two of them had had regarding having children, and felt a sense of sadness.

"Anna, we need some supplies."

Realizing that Anna hadn't heard his request, Roy followed her gaze.

"Supplies," Roy repeated, snapping his fingers.

"Oh…I'm sorry. I didn't realize that he came back," she replied somewhat nervously.

"Yeah…this morning. And I know that he doesn't know that you decided to stay."

Coming over to join his partner, Johnny smiled at his former girlfriend.

"I thought you'd be at your new job by now, Anna."

"No…I…I decided to stay…this is where I belong."

Giving her one of his patented Gage grins, Johnny nodded his head. "I'm glad you did."

After receiving their supplies, Roy thanked Anna and they returned to the squad, leaving Anna to again think of what had been, and what could have been.

While putting away the supplies in the compartment, Roy glanced over at his partner.

"I'm proud of you, Johnny."

"For what?" Johnny asked with confusion.

"Back there with Anna. You kept it together really well. Are you really glad that she didn't leave?"

"Yes, I am. I'll admit, it could get a little awkward at times, but she's a great nurse, Roy…and even *I* know how much she means to the ER."

"I kind of got the feeling in talking to her that she regrets leaving you."

Chuckling, Johnny shook his head. "Sorry to say, Pally…but that ship has sailed."

"You're over her?"

"No, not really…and I don't know that I ever will be…but I am moving on."

"If she wanted to get back with you, would you do it?"

Johnny thought for a few moments, before shaking his head.

"Truthfully, I don't think so."

Observing Johnny for a moment, Roy smiled. "That sparkle is back. I'd say that something happened on your trip."

"Is it that obvious?"

"To me it is…but that's only because I know you better than most."

"Her name is Randi…Randi McGrath."

Seeing Roy's wheels turning inside his head, Johnny continued. "She's Dr. McGrath's daughter…and we're only friends."

"Was this a set up?"

"Nope…pure coincidence. I never even met her before. Apparently she was recently jilted herself."

Johnny picked up the mike from the radio, "Squad 51 available."

"So let me get this straight…you went all that way to repair a broken heart…and you ended up meeting a girl."

Johnny grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess I did…what can I say?"

Returning to the station, the two paramedics joined the rest of the crew around the table for some coffee. Johnny told all the guys about his trip…where he went…what he did, but discreetly left out the part about having met Randi on his cruise.

Hank smiled at the sight of how relaxed his junior medic appeared to be.

"Well, it sounds like you had a great time, John…and I'm really glad, because watching you before you left…"

"I told you, Cap…that I'd be a new man when I came back," Johnny said with a grin.

"Yeah, you did…and I'm relieved to see it."

"I guess you found out about Anna staying at Rampart."

"Yeah, I sure did, Chet. I was pretty surprised by it. I know I can handle it…but according to my partner here, SHE might be the one with the problem."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked.

Roy cast a glance in Johnny's direction. "Just some vibes I have, Mike…just some vibes."

"You wouldn't get back with her, would you, Johnny?"

"I…don't think so, Marco…like I said to Roy a little while ago…that ship has sailed."

Clearing his throat, Hank wanted to put an end to the conversation…wanting to help Johnny move on.

"His personal life is none of our business."

Chet became a little overprotective of his friend.

"It is, if some chick steps all over him, Cap. You always said we were family."

"True…I did say that, Kelly. Well…on that note, I think I'll head back to my mound of paperwork."

After Hank returned to his office, the alarms sounded.

"Squad 51, man down Station 36…"

Pushing himself away from the table, Roy got up to head to the radio, while Johnny made his way to the squad.

Arriving at 36's station house, Roy asked the approaching captain what the problem was.

"What happened, Cap?"

"It's Sullivan…follow me."

Following the captain to the back of the station, Roy and Johnny carried their equipment.

When they made it to their destination, they could see one of the firefighters sprawled out on the ground, and seemingly in considerable pain.

"Tommy, how are you doing?" Roy asked with concern.

"DeSoto, is that you?"

"Yeah. How are you doing?"

"It hurts real bad." Tommy gasped out in pain.

Johnny looked up at the other men.

"What exactly happened?"

"He went up for a dunk, and didn't quite make it. He said he could dunk the ball, but we didn't believe him," said one of the other crewmen.

Johnny looked up at the basketball hoop that was mounted to the back of the station.

"Tommy, did you hit your head?"

"No. It's the rest of me that hurts…bad."

The two paramedics began to carefully examine him, and take his vitals, before Johnny got on the phone to Rampart.

"Do you guys think I can have something for the pain…it's really bad."

"Hang on, Tommy…we have to check in with the doctor, first."

After getting their treatment orders, Johnny repeated them back to Rampart.

"Ten-four, Rampart."

"Roy, they want full spinal precautions."

Not even having to say anything, the remaining men went to their squad and retrieved the C-collar and backboard.

By the time their patient was ready for transport, the ambulance had arrived.

"Cap, one of you guys want to lead the attendants back here, please."

"Sure thing. Jake, you wanna go meet them," Captain Marsh told one of his men.

After Tommy was put on the backboard, and then onto the stretcher, he was brought to the awaiting ambulance out front, and loaded into the back. Once Johnny was in with him, the doors were closed, and they pulled out of the station, making their way to Rampart.

In the driveway in front of the station, while Roy was putting the rest of their equipment away, he was talking to the captain.

"He'll be okay?" the captain asked with a bit of worry.

"Well…he'll be out of action for a while, but he should make a full recovery. I think his career as a possible NBA player might be over, but…hey, it's not life or death…he'll be fine. We'll be in touch."

"Thanks, Roy."

The two men shook hands, and Roy prepared to make his way to Rampart.

In the ambulance, Johnny and Tommy were talking.

"When are you going to stop paying attention to them, Tommy? They dared you to dunk the ball…what the heck were you thinking?"

"I guess I wasn't…but I USED to be able to dunk the ball."

"Probably been a few years, right?"

Hearing his patient's groans, Johnny knew he was right in his assumption.

At the hospital, after helping to get Tommy transferred onto the examination bed, Johnny smiled at his fallen friend.

"Take it easy, buddy. I'll check in on you later."

"Thanks, Johnny…and thank that partner of yours, too."

"I will," Johnny replied with a wink and a smile.

When Johnny came out of the treatment room, he was met by Dr. McGrath.

"Johnny, I was hoping I'd see you."

"What's up?"

"Randi told me that she had met you on the cruise."

Smiling, Johnny couldn't quite hide his happiness. "Yeah, small world."

Out of the blue, Randi suddenly showed up. Watching from a distance was Anna, an irrational sense of jealousy enveloping her.

"Dad…" she greeted her father, kissing him on the cheek. "Johnny, what a pleasure to see you again."

"Yes, same here, Randi."

"What brings you here to the ER, sweetheart?"

"I just thought I'd spend lunch with my father. Are you free?" she asked hopefully.

Looking at his watch, the doctor smiled. "Sure. Just give me ten minutes, and I'm all yours."

Stepping away to tie up a few loose ends, Dr. McGrath left them.

"Johnny, would you like to join us?"

"I'd love to, but I've gotta get back into service. But a rain check would be good."

"You got it." Randi replied with a smile.

Finally arriving at the ER, Roy joined his partner in the hallway.

"You must be Roy DeSoto."

"Guilty."

Sensing Roy's confusion, Johnny introduced the two of them to each other.

"Roy, this is Randi McGrath…Dr. McGrath's daughter."

A light of recognition came over Roy's face.

"Oh…you're the one from the cruise."

"Yes, that would be me. I see your partner told you about me." A rather large smile overtook her face.

"And likewise."

"Yes."

When their radio went off, Roy answered it.

"Ten-four, LA. Nice meeting you, Randi…but we need to head out."

"Okay. You'll be in touch, Johnny?"

"Definitely," he responded with a smile and a wink.

Arriving at the site of their next call, it was an office building in which a young woman had burned her leg with some extremely hot water.

Treating her on scene in the office where she worked, it was decided that she would be well served to go to Rampart to get her second degree burn checked out.

At the hospital, after helping to get the young woman settled, Johnny made his way to the nurses' desk to get some coffee.

Standing at the desk, Anna greeted him.

"Hi Johnny. You have a few minutes?" Anna asked hopefully.

"For you?" he asked with a little bit of hesitation.

"Yeah…for me."

"Sure," he replied with a shrug.

"Can we go to the lounge?"

Johnny nodded his head.

In the lounge, Johnny poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down on the arm of the couch, while Anna sat down next to him.

"So what's up?" he asked curiously.

"Well…I'm not sure you really want to hear all of this but…seeing you again has brought back all of these feelings for me. I knew if I stayed here that this was going to happen."

Smiling wistfully, Johnny looked into Anna's beautiful green eyes.

"Well…if it's any consolation, I'm glad that you stayed. You mean a lot to…this place…and it wouldn't be the same if you left."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Johnny. For a moment, I thought…I thought when you started to say that I meant a lot to this place…that you were going to say that I meant a lot to *you*, instead."

"You did mean a lot to me, Anna…more than you'll ever know. But once you said what you said, and did what you did…you can't go back and undo it. I admit it, you did break my heart. But you know what…I don't blame you at all. I can only imagine what the last year must have been like for you…all the worrying and wondering, and I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that. And I know with my track record…you wouldn't be happy, having to constantly go through all of that. Having expressed those sentiments to me, it wouldn't be right to put you in that position any more…about you having to worry and wonder constantly about me."

"But I was wrong, Johnny." She was desperate to get Johnny back.

"No…no you weren't. You can't convince yourself otherwise, Anna…I know you. And I won't let you try to convince yourself that you're wrong for feeling that way. You had your doubts and they certainly weren't unfounded."

Anna started to say something and Johnny cut her off.

"You'll always have a special place in my heart, but I can't do it again…not now… not knowing how you really and truly feel."

"So that's it? Roy told me that you were ready to propose to me."

"I was. I'm trying to move on with my life now, Anna…and I suggest that you do the same. I don't want to see you go, but if you can't handle things…maybe you should go to another hospital. I gotta get going, Roy's probably wondering where I disappeared to."

"That woman from this morning…"

"Dr. McGrath's daughter…and we're just friends. We happened to meet on the same trip. Take care of yourself, Anna."

Getting up, Johnny dumped out the rest of his coffee into the sink, left his cup on the counter, and then made his way out into the hallway.

Meeting Roy just outside the lounge, he noticed the questioning look on his partner's face.

"Anna?"

Johnny nodded his head.

"Yeah. You were right about what you had said, Roy…about her wanting to get back together with me."

"And?"

"Well…I might be a little nutty at times…and maybe even a little crazy…but I'm no idiot. Let's get outta here."

When they returned to the squad, Johnny told Roy all about the conversation that he had just had with Anna.

"Hey, I have an idea. How about on our next day off, you invite Randi to have dinner with us…we can have a barbecue or something."

"Whoa…I like Randi a lot…we had fun talking and all, on the trip, but I don't think I'm quite ready to just jump back into a relationship yet, Roy. Besides, you know where dating the head nurse got me…I can only imagine what a bad relationship with one of the ER doc's daughters will get me."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

After a relatively quiet afternoon, everyone was relaxing in the day room, while Mike was preparing his special lasagna for supper.

"How's Tommy Sullivan from 36's doing?" Chet asked curiously.

"Shoulder separation, chipped elbow, fractured forearm, and a really serious back strain. He'll be out of commission for a while," Roy stated matter-of-factly.

Hank looked over at his two paramedics. "What was he thinking?"

Johnny shook his head before answering in a deadpan tone. "He wasn't."

After Mike's lasagna was finished cooking in the oven, everyone sat down at the table to enjoy a good meal.

"This lasagna is amazing, Mike."

Smiling at his friend, Mike was relieved that the crew seemed to be enjoying it.

"Thanks, Marco…it's a new recipe. A friend of my mom's gave it to her to try. She made it last weekend, and it was so good, I had to try to make it myself."

"Well, pal…you definitely succeeded. I think your lasagna has eclipsed even your great fried chicken…and spaghetti."

Mike continued to grin. "Thanks, Cap."

Amazingly getting through dinner without interruption, the crew was now sitting around the table talking and drinking coffee, while Chet was doing the dishes.

Yawning, Johnny got up and went to his locker to get his blue jacket to put on.

When he returned to the day room, he got a lot of strange looks.

"You're cold?" asked Marco.

"A little bit."

Roy looked over at his partner with concern.

"You okay, Johnny?"

Sitting on the couch, Johnny let out another yawn.

"I'm fine, Roy…just tired."

As soon as he sat down, the alarm sounded, calling the engine out.

Noting that there would be some quiet in the station for a while, as the engine crew would not be around for a bit, Johnny leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Roy had gone to the locker room for a moment, and returned only a minute later.

"Johnny, you wanna dry? I'll…"

When there was no answer, Roy called out his partner's name. "Johnny?"

Turning around to check on his partner, Roy discovered that Johnny was sound asleep on the couch.

Sighing, Roy decided to go ahead and do the dishes any way…he knew it would make Chet happy.

After finishing the dishes, Roy relaxed in one of the chairs by the couch, reading the newspaper.

It was about twenty minutes later that Johnny had woken up.

"Hey there…partner. You must be tired…you fell asleep."

"I did? I just closed my eyes for a minute."

Roy started to laugh. "A minute? Try about an hour."

"An hour?" Johnny asked with surprise.

"Yeah. You really okay, Johnny? It's not like you to fall asleep like that."

"I'm fine, Roy. I'm probably just tired from having been off for two weeks."

When the engine crew returned, Chet went right over to the sink, and realized that the dishes were done.

"You guys did the dishes…bless your little hearts."

"What do you mean? *I* did the dishes…Johnny did his best rendition of Sleeping Beauty."

"Well, thanks…I appreciate it."

Hearing the alarms go off, the paramedics knew the call was for them.

"Squad 51 respond with Engine 59, in place of Squad 59…man down…possible heart attack…Los Angeles Harbor Lighthouse…"

"Come on, Johnny…they're playing our song."

Arriving on scene at the lighthouse, they were met by Captain Carlton.

"Possible heart attack, fellas. There's not much room up there. I'll send one of my guys with you, in case you need help, or more manpower."

"Okay…thanks," Roy replied.

They got their equipment, and prepared to make their climb to the top of the lighthouse.

Before going up, Johnny glanced up to the top, and sighed softly.

"Johnny? You okay?"

Answering tiredly, Johnny nodded his head. "Yeah. It's just that it's so…high up."

"Come on, let's go."

Carrying their gear, the two paramedics, as well as the firefighter from the engine crew, all made their way up to the top of the lighthouse.

When they got to the top, they were met by a man who was gasping for air, and already in some pain.

Introducing themselves quickly, the two paramedics got to work on their victim.

Turning around to the firefighter, Roy told him to request the stokes to be sent up. After a somewhat frantic twenty minutes, they had the man stabilized and readied for transport, after checking in with Rampart for their orders.

After much effort, their heart attack victim, as well as the three rescuers, were now all on the ground.

Knowing that the chance for a better recovery for their victim would be increased, the paramedics had requested a helicopter for transport.

Getting into the helicopter, Roy gave Johnny a thumb's up, and he prepared for take-off. Despite having his hands full with their victim, Roy found time to worry about his partner. Johnny's fatigue and lethargy over the last few hours, as well as Johnny's heavy breathing when he was climbing both up and down the lighthouse stairs, had him concerned.

Having arrived at the hospital long before his partner, Roy was relaxing in the lounge.

"Good evening, Roy."

"Hi, Dr. Morton."

Noticing that the paramedic seemed to be a little distracted, he came over and sat down next to him.

"Everything okay with you?"

"Huh?"

"Everything okay? You seem…I don't know…a little distracted."

"Oh…I'm fine. I guess I was just thinking about Johnny…his break up with Anna and all." It wasn't the honest truth, but it was close enough.

"Yeah, it's a shame that it didn't work out. They seemed like the perfect match. How's he doing now? I hear he went away for a couple weeks and came back a lot happier than he was when he had left."

"Yeah…he's doing a lot better. The trip he went on did him a lot of good."

In the middle of their conversation, Carol the nurse entered the room.

"Roy, Johnny wanted me to tell you that he was waiting for you in the squad."

"Okay…thanks, Carol."

"The squad?" Morton asked in confusion. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, he probably doesn't want to run into Anna." Roy lied. He knew that probably wasn't the reason at all.

"He doesn't have to worry about seeing her. She left a couple hours ago. Well, I better get back to work. Take care, Roy."

"Yeah…you too, doc."

Roy finished his coffee and after rinsing the cup out, left it on the counter.

Returning to the squad, he was met by a very quiet John Gage. His partner had his head back and his eyes were closed.

"Johnny?"

"I'm here, Roy…just resting my eyes. Can we just skip the chit chat, and head back to the station?"

"I know I keep asking you this, but are you really okay? You seem a little out of it."

"Just tired…don't make a federal case out of it." Reaching for the radio mike, Johnny tiredly spoke into it. "Squad 51 available…returning to quarters."

"Ten-four, 51."

Returning the mike to its holder, Johnny sat back and continued to look out the window.

Roy's concern over his partner's well-being continued to grow. For as happy and talkative as Johnny had been earlier that day, he was now anything but.

The drive back to the station was a very quiet one. Johnny continued to sit looking out his window, and every so often, Roy would glance over at him in concern.

"Johnny…you still feeling a little chilled?"

"Why? Does it bother you that I have my jacket on? If you'd like…I'll take it off," Johnny replied irritably.

Realizing that anything else he said would elicit a negative response from his partner, Roy decided not to say another word.

When they finally returned to the station, Roy sat observing Johnny for a few moments…something that irritated the heck out of the junior paramedic.

"What's the problem?" Johnny asked in a very annoyed tone.

"I should be the one asking YOU that question."

Exhaling loudly, Johnny almost defiantly responded to Roy's comment. "I don't HAVE a problem."

Getting out of the squad, Johnny closed his door a bit harder than was necessary, and stormed off, leaving a stunned Roy behind.

Going into the locker room, Johnny splashed some cold water on his face, and after drying off, went to his locker. Pulling out a bottle of Tylenol, he took out two tablets and swallowed them.

Deciding to try to calm himself down, he sat down on the bench, and leaned against his locker.

Inside the day room, Chet, Marco, and Mike were playing gin rummy, while Captain Stanley was sitting on the couch, looking through a manual.

Seeing that Roy had entered the room, Marco told him about dessert.

"Dessert's in the fridge, Roy."

"Thanks, Marco…but I'm not hungry."

"Suit yourself."

Hank called out form the couch. "Where's Gage?"

"I don't really know…and right now, I think I'll just try to avoid him."

"Did something happen? He seemed to be handling things just fine this morning."

"Yeah, he was doing well all day until this last call. Just doesn't seem to be himself. All he'd tell me was that he was just tired from not having worked in two weeks. We almost had it out in the squad."

"He probably has a lot on his mind, and just wants to be left alone."

"Maybe, Marco."

Sitting down in a chair, Roy glanced over at the television.

"Anything good on TV?"

Mike shook his head. "The cable's out…that's why we're playing cards. Wanna join us?"

"No thanks. I should probably go check on Johnny…see what kind of mood he's in now."

When Roy looked in the locker room, there was no sign of his partner. Deciding to check in the dorm, he found Johnny sound asleep in bed…still in full uniform.

When Roy came back out to rejoin the others, he was met by Hank's questioning look.

"Did you find him?"

"Yeah, he's in bed…out cold."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**


	4. Chapter 4

**What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (chapter 4)**

Getting very lucky that night, the men of Station 51 had no calls during the night.

When the morning alarms sounded, Johnny yawned tiredly, seemingly surprised that it was already morning.

"It's time to get up?"

Chet looked at his friend as though he had lost his mind.

"What are you talking about, Gage…time to get up? You've been asleep since almost 7:30 last night…not to mention the fact that you're still in uniform."

Looking down at himself, Johnny realized that he in fact had never changed out of his uniform.

"I guess that would explain why I felt like a pin cushion…my badge and pins poking me."

Roy stood observing his partner again. Despite the amount of sleep that Johnny had gotten that night, he still looked very tired, and his coloring appeared to be a little on the pale side.

Noticing Roy observing him closely, Johnny got a little annoyed.

"Roy…don't start that again," Johnny said tiredly.

Dragging himself out of bed, Johnny followed the rest of the crew into the day room, where Marco started the coffee brewing.

"John, you alright, pal?" Hank asked with concern, noting that the younger man did appear to be a bit under the weather.

"I'm fine, Cap…no need to worry about me."

Hearing the alarms go off, Johnny was relieved when the call ended up only being for the engine.

Looking at Johnny, Roy sensed the same relief in him that his partner was feeling.

"Coffee, Johnny?"

"Yeah, maybe it'll wake me up. I probably just got too much sleep now."

"Maybe." Roy went along with Johnny's explanation, even though he didn't really believe it, himself.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

During the second day of their shift, Johnny had really started dragging. It was obvious to everyone that there was something wrong.

Changing in the locker room, at the end of the shift, Johnny was moving very slowly.

Still very concerned for his partner's welfare, Roy made another try to see what exactly was going on with him.

"You alright, Johnny?"

That did it. Johnny was now officially annoyed and irritated.

"For the millionth time, Roy…I'm fine."

"Well if you're so fine, why don't you come over for dinner tonight? Jo and the kids would love to see you again."

"I don't know. I have a lot of stuff to do in my apartment…laundry…cleaning…my place is a mess. I think I should just stay home and devote the next few days to cleaning and getting everything reorganized again. Can I take a rain check?"

"Yeah…sure," Roy replied disappointedly.

"Great. I'll be in touch. Have a great few days off, everybody."

Watching Johnny leave the locker room, Roy was struck by how slowly the paramedic was moving, and about the fact that he had been wearing a heavy LACoFD sweatshirt…on a day when it was actually quite warm outside.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

When Johnny made it home, he immediately laid down in bed, curling up under a heavy blanket that he had pulled out of his closet.

Arriving home, Roy was greeted by Joanne and the kids, as they were both getting ready to catch the bus.

"Bye dad…"

"Bye dad…"

Watching as the kids left the house and walked to the bus stop to join the other waiting children, Roy sighed softly.

"You okay, honey? You seem a little pre-occupied."

"I'M fine…it's Johnny who's not doing so good."

Following his wife inside the house, Roy left his duffel bag by the front door, and wearily sat down on the couch.

"What happened? Didn't going on the trip help him?"

"Yeah, I thought it did. He came to work two days ago in much better spirits, but by Monday afternoon, he just didn't seem to be himself."

Roy relayed the events of the past two days.

"Maybe he's coming down with something…like the flu. I'm sure he's fine, Roy. But if you're that concerned about him, why don't you call him?"

"I will…a little later. Maybe he just needs sleep. He's been complaining all shift about being so tired."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

By the late afternoon, Johnny was in pretty bad shape. A bad headache, the chills, a fever, not to mention some nausea and vomiting, were symptoms that Johnny knew he could do without.

Deciding to call his partner, Roy dialed the familiar number, and waited for the phone to be picked up. Letting it ring several times, the only thing that answered was Johnny's answering machine.

"Hi, you've reached the home of John Gage. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you…thanks."

Watching as her husband hung up the phone, Joanne sensed that Roy's worry must have increased.

"No answer."

Trying to stay positive, Joanne tried to suggest other things that may have prevented him from answering the phone.

"Maybe he went out, Roy. You know Johnny…not one to stay cooped up for too long."

"Jo…if you had seen him the last day or so…you'd have known he wasn't going anywhere but home…and right to bed."

"Then that's it. He's in bed asleep, and doesn't want to be disturbed."

Back at Johnny's apartment, there was a knock at his door. Feeling as miserable as he was, he debated whether or not to get up to answer it. For starters, he wasn't sure if he was even able to get up to answer it, let alone wanting to.

Finally able to drag himself out of bed, he slowly made his way to the door.

When he unlocked the door, and pulled it open, he was met by a shocked gasp.

"My God…what's wrong?"

Looking up, he came face to face with Randi McGrath.

Speaking very softly, Johnny also had a hard time staying on his feet.

"I…I don't know…a stomach virus or something."

Pushing her way into his apartment, she wanted to try to get a good look at him.

"Johnny, let me take care of you. Anna may have been a nurse, but I'm a doctor's daughter. Let's get you in bed."

Feeling too exhausted and sick to argue, Johnny headed back to his bedroom.

After getting him settled back into bed, she went to his bathroom too look for a thermometer and wash cloth to help cool him off.

Returning, she put the thermometer under his tongue, and set about wiping his neck and forehead with the cool damp cloth.

"102.4. You're running a pretty high fever, Johnny. We should get you to a hospital."

"No hospital, Randi…I'll be fine…it's no big deal," Johnny pleaded.

"Sure it's not," she responded sarcastically. "I saw some Tylenol in your medicine cabinet. Can I at least get you take that?"

Johnny groaned in discomfort. "How did you even find me?"

"I asked my father for your address. He was more than willing to give it to me. I'll take that groan to mean 'yes'."

After agreeing to take the medication, Johnny closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

It was around 9:30 PM, that Roy tried to call Johnny again…unable to stand the suspense of what may have been going on with his partner.

When the phone at Johnny's apartment was answered, Roy was surprised by the voice on the other end.

"Hello…John Gage's residence. Can I help you?"

"Yes. This is Roy DeSoto. Can I please speak to Johnny?"

"Hi there, Roy. This is Randi McGrath."

"Oh, I'm sorry…did I disturb you guys?" he asked almost embarrassingly.

"No…not at all. Johnny's sleeping right now. Can I take a message?"

"Uh…well, not really. I just called to see how he was doing. He hadn't been feeling well for the last day or so."

"Well, truthfully…he's not doing very well. He's got a fever and the chills, and also mentioned something about having thrown up a few times, too. He thinks it's some stomach bug or something. I've been giving him some cool compresses, and some Tylenol. Mostly he's just been sleeping."

"Do you need any help?"

"Nope…I got everything okay here. I'm a doctor's daughter, remember?"

"Right. Well…if he doesn't start to feel any better soon, call me. My number is 421-5678."

"Okay, thanks for calling, Roy."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

When the start of the next shift, came a few days later, Roy entered the locker room to find Brett Connors, a C-shift paramedic, sitting on the bench.

"Brett…what are you still doing here?"

"Johnny called out sick. I'm covering his shift."

Roy mumbled to himself. "He's still sick?"

"What'd ya say, Roy?"

"Oh…I was just commenting on Johnny still being sick."

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. It's just that Johnny's been sick for the last few days, but I expected him to be feeling better by now."

"Haven't you spoken to him?" Brett asked curiously.

"Well, not to him personally. But he did have a friend staying with him, making sure that he was doing okay. When I hadn't heard anything for a few days, I assumed that Johnny was feeling better."

Roy changed quickly and made his way to Hank's office.

Knocking on the doorframe, Roy got his captain's attention.

"Good morning, Roy. What can I do for you?"

"Well, it's about Johnny. I just saw Brett. He said that Johnny called out for this shift. What do you know about it?"

"Not much. I didn't even take the call…I got a message from Captain Hookraider. All the message said was that Johnny called out sick…no other details. Why? Is something wrong, Roy?"

"It's possible. As you remember Johnny didn't appear to be himself at the end of the last shift. I called him a couple times that day, and was finally able to get an answer at his place, pretty late in the evening. Dr. McGrath's daughter Randi answered the phone. Well at first I just assumed that they were just visiting with each other, but when I asked her how he was doing…she told me that he wasn't doing so well. Based on the symptoms she described…it sounded just like the run of the mill stomach bug. But here we are a few days later, and he's no better. If it's okay with you, Cap…I'd like to call in a still alarm and go to Johnny's apartment to check him out. If it's nothing too serious…fine…but I have my doubts. That partner of mine doesn't call out, so it's gotta be serious."

"Okay. You and Brett go…keep me informed of what's going on."

"I will. Thanks, Cap."

While Hank called in the still alarm and gave Johnny's address, Roy returned to the locker room where Brett was waiting for him.

"So what's up?"

"We're going to Johnny's apartment, Brett…he could be in some real trouble."

When the two paramedics arrived at Johnny's apartment, Randi answered the door.

"Roy…" Noticing the two men carrying their equipment, she had a feeling that she knew why they were there.

"How is he?" Roy asked anxiously.

"Status quo. I wanted to call you…but he was so stubborn about it. He kept insisting that he was okay."

Entering Johnny's bedroom, they saw Johnny lying in bed, shivering under the blankets, and very groggy.

"Johnny…you're going to Rampart." Roy told his best friend in no uncertain terms.

Moaning softly and gasping at the same time, Johnny shook his head.

"No…not gonna go."

"Johnny…you don't have much of a choice in this matter. You're dehydrated and weak…you HAVE to go. Brett, get Rampart on the phone. Randi, would you mind calling for an ambulance, please."

"No problem," she answered, leaving the room to make the call.

After Randi left to make the call, the two paramedics set about examining their fallen friend.

On the phone, Brett got Rampart on the line.

"Rampart, Squad 51…how do you read?"

"Go ahead 51," responded the calm voice of Dr. Early.

"We have a male, age 29. Please be advised that the victim is John Gage. Stand by for vitals and additional information."

Hearing Johnny's name come up as the victim, Dr. Early grew very concerned.

"Ten-four, 51…standing by."

After Roy took Johnny's vitals, Brett reported them back to Rampart, and they got their treatment orders.

"Ten-four, Rampart."

"Johnny…let's get this IV started, and get you to Rampart."

Roy knew that Johnny was in bad shape, as his partner never even flinched as he inserted the needle into his arm and got the IV started.

After the IV was in place, and they had gotten Johnny started on O2, the ambulance arrived only a short time later.

Randi met the attendants at the door and led them to where Johnny was in the bedroom.

Looking at Johnny, Roy had a sense that his best friend was not very happy about having to go to the hospital, but he also knew that Johnny was too sick and too weak to fight it.

After gathering their equipment, they followed the stretcher out the door, leaving Randi to lock up Johnny's apartment.

Arriving just before Roy climbed into the ambulance, Randi told him that she'd meet them at Rampart.

During the ride to the hospital, Roy looked down at Johnny. He was shocked at just how badly he looked. He was very pale, and looked like he hadn't slept in days…he was also burning up. Roy was able to feel the body heat coming off the downed medic. It was obvious that Johnny was in bad shape.

"Hang in there, Johnny…we're almost there."

Sensing that his partner was having trouble breathing, Roy encouraged him.

"Deep breaths, Johnny…nice and easy."

Pulling into the ER entrance, and backing up, the ambulance was met by Joe Early and Anna of all people. After hearing that Johnny was on his way in, she became very worried. Although they were no longer a couple, she still had very deep feelings for him.

"Room four is ready," she said.

Following the stretcher, Roy continued to hold the IV aloft.

Once Johnny was transferred to the exam bed, things happened quickly.

He was stripped and put into a hospital gown, and new vitals were taken, including temperature.

Turning around, the doctor faced the paramedic.

"Roy…why don't you wait outside…I'll be with you as soon as I can."

Nodding his head in understanding, Roy took one last glance back at his partner. "Hang in there, Johnny…I'll see you soon."

Out in the hallway, Roy was met by a concerned Brett.

"How is he?"

"Not good. Early said he'd be out to talk as soon as he could."

"Okay. Let's grab a cup of coffee and wait in the lounge…it shouldn't be too long, Roy."

Agreeing to go, he followed Brett to the lounge.

Once they both had a cup of coffee and were sitting down, Brett smiled at his temporary partner.

"Johnny will be okay, Roy…he always is."

"I hope so. The last time he was this sick…"

Brett knew that Roy was referring to the monkey virus from a few years earlier.

Back inside the treatment room, Early had ordered chest and abdominal x-rays. One of the other nurses had just drawn blood, and the urine was being collected. Despite being very groggy, Johnny felt awful. He ached everywhere, especially his chest. His head pounded and the nausea he felt, threatened to make itself seriously known.

"What's his temperature, Anna?"

"103.8."

"Start cooling measures, and let me know when x-ray is done."

Anna nodded her head. "Yes, Dr. Early."

Before leaving, Joe looked down at Johnny and patted his shoulder.

"Try to rest, Johnny…we'll have some answers soon enough. Then we can give you something to help you sleep."

"Promise?" Johnny softly responded.

"Yes…just try to get some rest."

Making his way out to the hallway, Dr. Early looked for Roy.

"Karen, have you seen Roy DeSoto?" He asked one of the nurses.

"Yes, I believe he and his partner went to the lounge."

"Thank you."

As the doctor entered the lounge, Roy and Brett both stood up.

"How is he?" Roy asked anxiously.

"He's certainly not feeling too good, that's for sure. At the moment I don't really know what's going on with him. We have to wait for the labs to come back, as well as some x-rays. But I would say, based on the preliminaries and his very high temperature, it's an infection of some kind."

"More than just the flu, huh?"

"In all likelihood…yes. Look, we won't know anything for sure for a couple hours yet. My suggestion to you fellas is to return to work…I promise to keep you posted on how Johnny's doing."

Roy exhaled loudly. "You're probably right. I should call the station, first…Captain Stanley would want to know what's going on."

Brett nodded his head. "Probably a good idea, Roy."

"Well…I'll see you guys later. I promise to be in touch."

After the doctor left, Roy went to the phone and dialed the station's number.

"Station 51, Captain Stanley speaking."

"Hey, Cap."

"Roy…I thought I'd hear from you sooner. What happened? How's Johnny?" the captain asked anxiously.

"Sorry I didn't call you sooner…this is the first chance I got. We got to his apartment…he wasn't doing well at all. We had to take him to Rampart. Dr. Early isn't sure what exactly is wrong with him, but is sure that it's some kind of infection. He's still waiting for the results of some tests. As soon as we know anything, we'll let you know. We have to get back in service. I'll be in touch."

Back inside the treatment room, Anna was gently using a cool damp cloth to cool Johnny off.

"Johnny?" She called softly.

A pair of tired brown eyes opened at the sound of hearing his name.

Once she knew she had his attention, she smiled warmly at him.

"Hey there. How ya doing?"

"Terrific," he said sarcastically. "Is Randi here?"

Hearing Johnny ask about the other woman, was like a dagger through her heart, but she knew she had no one else to blame but herself.

"I don't know."

Just then the portable x-ray arrived.

"Johnny, it's time for your x-rays. You'll be fine…I'll be right outside."

Returning to the base station to get some supplies, Roy and Brett happened to meet Anna in the hallway.

"Any news on his condition, Anna?"

The head nurse shook her head. "No. He's getting x-rayed now. You need some supplies?"

"Yes."

Roy handed her the list. "Here."

Getting off the elevator and walking towards them was Randi.

"Roy…how's Johnny doing?" Randi asked with concern.

"I don't know. They're still running tests. Dr. Early said we won't know for a couple hours. We need to get back into service. We'll be in touch, Randi…thanks for your help."

"Glad to do it…wish I could have done more."

Hearing Roy's exchange with Randi, Anna could only wonder what was going on, and what exactly he was referring to by the word "help."

"I guess I should get going. Take care, Roy."

"Yes, you too, Randi."

Distracted by the recent exchange, Anna gave Roy too many of the requested IV's.

"Anna…I only needed two IV's…you have four here."

"Oh…I'm sorry. I guess I'm just upset with seeing Johnny like this…so sick and all."

"It's difficult for all of us," replied Roy matter-of-factly.

Anna gave the paramedics the proper requested supplies.

"Thanks, Anna. See you later."

"Roy…"

The senior medic knew by the nurse's tone and expression that she was very worried about Johnny.

"I know…hopefully Johnny will be okay."

As the two paramedics made their way back out to the squad, Brett turned to his friend.

"You going to be okay, Roy?"

"Yeah…I just hope Johnny will be, too. Hopefully it's nothing too serious…just a bug of some kind, and he'll be fine after some IV fluids, and a few days in the hospital."

Back inside the treatment room, the x-ray technician had just finished up with Johnny.

"Take it easy, buddy," the tech said softly to his exhausted friend.

After the x-ray tech left the room, Early and Anna returned to Johnny's side.

"Johnny…" Joe called softly.

Looking up at Dr. Early, Johnny could only hope that the doctor had news of what was going on with him, and could give him something to just knock him out.

"Doc…you have some news for me?" he asked in an almost whisper.

"No, not yet…but soon. We have to wait for your labs and x-rays to come back. I know it's tough, but try to hang in there for a while. As soon as we know what's going on, we can give you something to help you get some sleep. In the meantime, just try to get some rest. I'll check on you in a little bit."

Starting to leave the room, Joe looked back and noticed that Anna hadn't yet made a move to leave.

"Anna?"

"I'll be right there, Dr. Early."

Nodding his head in understanding, Joe left the room.

Looking down at Johnny, and how sick he looked, she couldn't stop being so worried about him.

"Johnny?"

Opening his eyes, he found the worried face of his ex-girlfriend looking down at him.

"Mmm…"

"I'm sorry that you're sick. I…I wish there was something that I could do to help you."

"You being here…helps," he whispered.

Noticing that Johnny was starting to shiver more, Anna got a blanket and covered him up.

"Better?"

"Thanks," he answered, the shivers getting progressively worse.

"I guess I should get going…let you get some rest. If you need anything, use the call button."

"Yeah…thanks."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**


	5. Chapter 5

**What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (chapter 5)**

As Roy was driving back to the station, despite his best efforts, his mind continued to still be back at the hospital with his partner.

"Roy?"

"Hmm…"

"Your mind's not on work right now, is it?"

Sighing softly before replying, Roy shook his head. "No, Brett…I guess it's not. You saw Johnny…he's not doing very well. Like I said before, the last time I saw him this bad was when he was struck with that monkey virus…and we both know what happened to Tim Duntley."

"Roy…you can't go jumping to conclusions. Dr. Early said that he wouldn't know anything until he got all of Johnny's labs and x-rays back…so you can't assume the worst…'cause no one knows anything yet."

"I suppose you're right, but…"

"Look, I know you're worried about him…maybe you should consider taking the rest of the shift off. It's obvious to me that your focus isn't here with me. Why don't we go back to the station and you think about it. I'm sure Captain Stanley wouldn't want you working if your mind wasn't truly on your job."

"No, he wouldn't."

"And I don't think Johnny would want that, either."

As the squad approached the station, their radio went off.

"Station 51…MVA…intersection of Winston and Brooks…"

Picking up the radio microphone, Brett responded to the call.

"Ten-four, LA…Squad 51 responding."

Pushing thoughts of his ill partner off to the side, Roy put on the lights and sirens, and sped off to the accident scene.

Arriving to where the accident was, the Engine pulled up behind them only a minute later.

Roy went to check on the blue sedan, while Brett checked on the red pick-up.

Approaching Roy, Captain Stanley asked the senior paramedic what he had in the way of victims.

"I have one female here, doesn't seem too bad. Why don't you check with Brett?"

Nodding his head, Hank went to see if the other paramedic needed any help.

After only thirty minutes, and with the help of the engine crew, the paramedics had their two victims extricated and readied for transport.

Brett didn't have to ask, he already knew that Roy would be the one to go in with their victims.

"I'll meet you at Rampart, Roy."

As the ambulance was pulling away, Brett started to put away their equipment.

Walking over to the paramedic, Hank had a concerned expression on his face.

"Any word on Johnny yet, Brett?"

"No, but hopefully we'll hear something when we get back to Rampart. I'm sure Roy will keep you posted. Thanks for the help, Cap."

Getting into the squad, Brett pulled away from the scene and made his way to Rampart.

Having had a few minutes head start, Roy had arrived at the ER first.

Meeting the ambulance was Dr. Morton and two other nurses.

"Treatment room two for victim one, and room three for number two."

Following Dr. Morton, Roy went into room two with the first patient.

After helping to get her settled, he stepped back out into the hallway. Spotting Dr. Early, Roy walked over to him.

"Doctor Early, any word about Johnny, yet?" Roy asked anxiously.

"No, I'm afraid not, but I should be getting the labs back soon. You're welcome to wait for a while."

"How's he doing?"

"He's miserable…breathing's not so hot."

"Pneumonia?"

"In all likely yes…among other things. Why don't you go grab some coffee and I will be with you just as soon as I know anything, okay?"

Nodding his head, Roy started to walk away when he was met by Brett.

"Any news on Johnny, yet?"

"No, but Early says that we should know something soon."

Inside the treatment room, Johnny continued to lie in discomfort. He was hot and cold at the same time, nauseous, his head was pounding, and breathing was starting to become a chore. He tried to sleep, but he was hurting too much.

Having heard about Johnny being in the ER, Dixie came down from her office upstairs to check on him.

When she walked into the room, she was appalled at how ill he appeared to be.

"Johnny?" she called out softly.

Opening his eyes, Johnny tried to focus on who it was that was calling his name.

"Dixie…that you?" he asked breathlessly.

"It sure is. I'd ask you how you're feeling, but I can see the answer for myself."

Stroking her fingers through his hair, she could feel the perspiration, as well as the heat coming off of him.

As Johnny started to fall asleep to the gentle stroking of her fingers in his hair, Dixie started to think back to all the close calls that Johnny had had through the years. She knew he had ultimately overcome all of them, but it always left her wondering if there would come a time that he'd be left too weak and too sick or injured to overcome such a malady.

A few minutes later, Dr. Early entered the room, carrying some papers.

"Johnny…"

Realizing that Dixie was standing beside Johnny, Early was caught by surprise.

"Dixie…"

"Hi Joe. I heard about Johnny. I wanted to come down and see how he was doing. What are the results of his labs?"

"Well…let's wake Johnny up, and I can tell you both."

Putting his hand on Johnny's shoulder, Joe gently shook him.

"Johnny…wake up…I have your test results."

Opening his eyes, Johnny tried to focus on the doctor.

"Good…now can I have something to put me out?" Johnny pleaded softly.

"Soon. You have something called Legionnaires' Disease. Somehow bacteria called legionella got into your lungs, and caused you to become very sick."

"Is it bad? I mean, I'm not gonna die or anything?" Johnny asked between chattering teeth.

"It is quite serious, but I think we diagnosed it in time to get you the proper treatment."

"How did I get it?"

"Probably on your cruise. This sort of bacteria can get into water and air conditioning systems. It's more common than you think it is. But as I said, the good news is that now we know what's going on with you and can give you the proper medication. You'll be on some antibiotics and other medications to help with your pneumonia. In the meantime, it's important that you get a lot of rest and fluids. You'll be staying with us for a while, at least until your fever and symptoms are under control."

"Doc…Randi…she…she was on the cruise too. How come…she…she's not sick?"

"I don't know, Johnny. Were your cabins near each other?"

"No. She…she was on the other side of the ship," he commented shivering.

"Then there's your answer. I'll talk to her…make sure she's okay. A nurse will be in to give you your meds, and we'll have you transferred to a room. You take care."

Licking his dry lips, Johnny weakly nodded his head.

"I'm going to head out too. I'll check on you later, Johnny. Rest." Bending down, Dixie gave Johnny a kiss on his forehead.

Walking outside into the hallway, Dixie turned to Joe.

"He'll be okay, Joe?"

"Yeah, I think so. It'll be a couple weeks before he's back on his feet, but he'll get there. Thanks for stopping by Dix, it was great to see you."

"Thank you. Tell Kel I said hello. I should get back upstairs."

Watching as his former emergency room colleague walked away, Joe made his way to the base station where he gave medication orders to a nurse. Once he was done with that, he walked to the lounge to talk to Roy.

"Roy…"

Jumping up anxiously, Roy looked worriedly at the doctor.

"How is he? What's wrong with him?"

"He's holding his own. He's got a pretty severe case of pneumonia…stemming from exposure to legionella bacteria."

"Legionnaire's Disease?" Roy asked the doctor.

"Yes. You've obviously heard of it."

"Yeah, I have. Joanne's cousin was sick from it a couple years ago. She had spent several days at an old hotel in San Diego...it had something to do with the ventilation system at the hotel."

"Yes. And it's actually quite prevalent on cruise ships too. Johnny should be alright. We'll give him antibiotics to help with the lung infection, and something to help him get some sleep. He should start to feel markedly better in a few days. If I were you, I'd go back to work and stop worrying about your partner…he'll be fine."

"Thanks, doc. I guess under the circumstances, that's pretty good news."

"Yes. Any coffee left? I know how you firefighters like to monopolize the coffee pot."

"Yeah, there is…I just made a fresh pot."

"Thank you, Brett…that was nice of you."

"Come on Roy, we should get going. Captain Stanley and the others would probably wanna know what's going on with Johnny."

"Yeah, they would. Dr. Early…"

"Yes, Roy…I'll stay in touch with you."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

Back at the station, Chet especially was driving the others crazy with his pacing.

"Chet…sit down, will you," Hank pleaded with the younger firefighter.

"But Cap…"

"Look, we're all worried about John…but pacing isn't going to help any of us…so please…SIT DOWN."

Instead of sitting down, Chet walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself another cup of coffee.

Trying to help his buddy get his mind off of things for at least a little while, Mike suggested that Chet come out back with him and Marco to shoot some baskets.

"Chet…why don't we go out back and shoot some hoops…it'll help pass time a little more constructively."

"Mike…how can you think about shooting hoops at a time like this? Johnny could be…"

Stopping his sentence when the sound of the squad was heard, Chet put his coffee cup down on the counter and went to meet Roy and Brett out in the vehicle bay.

"Roy…how is he?"

Taking the key out of the ignition, Roy hung it up on a hook on the sun visor in the cab.

Getting out of the squad slowly, Roy exhaled slowly.

"Well…how is he?" Chet asked anxiously.

"Come inside with us…I'll share the news with everyone."

Following Roy and Brett inside to the squad room, Chet anxiously waited to hear about his favorite pigeon.

"Roy, how is he?" An equally concerned Captain Stanley asked.

"Well…he's stable. It seems that going on his cruise has made him very sick. He has something called Legionnaires' Disease. Basically because of poor ventilation or the water supply system on the ship, Johnny was exposed to a bacteria called legionella. It gets inhaled and wreaks havoc with your lungs. Johnny is in the process of getting a pretty severe case of pneumonia from all of this, but Dr. Early says that he should be fine in a few days."

"So…he…he won't die or anything?"

Roy shook his head. "No, Chet…it looks like Johnny will live to tell about all of this."

Marco sighed softly. "Gee, I'm glad he's okay, but it is a bummer that he went away to clear his head…you know after the break up…and he ended up getting so sick from it."

"Yeah…just his luck. I sure hope Anna feels badly about all of this. If it weren't for her…Johnny wouldn't be in the hospital right now…he'd be here with us."

"Chet, that's not a fair thing to say."

"Why not, Marco…it IS true."

Trying not to play the blame game with anyone, Roy tried to put the issue to rest.

"Well, Anna does feel plenty bad about it. But now that we know that Johnny is going to be fine…there's no point in belaboring the point."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

Getting on the phone, Dr. Early called Randi at home to see how she was feeling and whether or not she'd be able to offer any other additional information about the cruise that she and Johnny had just returned from, or about any other symptoms that he had had the couple days that he was home sick and she was with him.

"Hello?"

"Hello there, Randi…it's Dr. Early here."

"Dr. Early. How's Johnny, is he okay?" Randi asked anxiously.

"He's stable and will hopefully be resting comfortably soon…he was just transferred upstairs to a room. The reason that I am calling is…I wanted to know how you're feeling? Any of the same symptoms that Johnny was experiencing?"

"I feel fine. Why…what does how I'm feeling have to do with Johnny?"

"Have you ever heard of Legionnaire's Disease?"

"Yes. Isn't that when some kind of bacteria gets into your lungs and you get a pretty severe case of pneumonia?"

"Something like that. That's what Johnny has. He more than likely had picked it up on the recent cruise that you both went on. He said your cabin was on the other side of the ship from him…was that the case?"

"Yes. Our cabins were not anywhere near each other. Okay, so we know why he's sick, but how did he pick it up?"

"In all likely it was from the ship's ventilation system. Do you happen to remember if anyone else on the ship wasn't feeling well during the last half of the trip? You know, any people that you met or became friendly with?"

"No, not that I remember. Johnny will be okay, won't he?"

"He should be fine, but he's definitely feeling the effects of the illness right now. Listen, should you start to not feel well, please come in right away, okay?"

"Of course. When you see Johnny again, please tell him that I was asking about him."

"I will. You take care."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

Upstairs, Johnny was now resting comfortably in his room. Hooked up two IV's to help combat his dehydration, as well as a nasal cannula to aid his breathing, Johnny was starting to drift off into sleep.

Entering quietly into his room, Anna stood at the foot of his bed and watched him.

His eyes not quite fully closed, he sensed someone else in the room with him, and opened his eyes. He saw Anna standing there.

"Johnny…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up…I thought you were asleep. I just…I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Trying to reassure the former love of his life, he smiled what amounted to a rather weak version of his famous smile.

"Early says that…I'll be okay. Don't wor…ry 'bout me…be fine."

"I'm the one who's supposed to be doing the reassuring, not you."

"Guess it's a hazard of the job…it's what I do."

"Yeah, it's what you do. Get some sleep. I'll look in on you later."

Bending down, Anna gave Johnny a kiss on his forehead and started to walk away, but before she left the room, she once again turned around. All she could think about was if only she hadn't broken up with him, he wouldn't be so sick and in the hospital right now. It also made her realize how wrong she was for breaking up with him in the first place.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

It turned out to be a rather quiet evening. The men of 51's had just finished eating supper, although both Roy and Chet hadn't eaten very much.

Sitting back in his chair, Hank observed his senior medic and the curly haired firefighter for a few moments.

"Roy…are you sure that Johnny is going to be okay? The way you and your friend over there are acting, it's almost like you expect something bad to happen to Johnny."

"I don't know, Cap. I'm just not hungry. Dr. Early assured me that Johnny would be okay, but…"

"But what?" Hank asked hesitantly.

"No one else saw Johnny when Brett and I got to him at his apartment this morning…it was really bad. I really didn't think he was going to make it. He was struggling with his breathing, and his eyes had started to roll back…I was so scared. I guess despite what Early says, I won't relax until I see Johnny feeling better."

Chet offered no explanation, but it was obvious to everyone that his feelings about Johnny ran a bit more deep than their constant bickering would suggest, and that was why he was so worried about his friend.

"Chet, I'll do the dishes for you, if you want me to."

Smiling appreciatively, Chet shook his head. "Thanks, Brett I appreciate the offer, but doing the dishes will help keep me busy…or at least enough so that I won't dwell on what Johnny's going through right now."

"Okay…but the offer's still there if you change your mind."

After the men helped clear their plates from the table, Roy walked away from the table.

Nodding at Brett, Hank signaled for him to go and check on Roy.

Looking for his temporary partner, Brett found him outside leaning against the back wall of the station, and looking up at the sky.

"Roy?" Brett called out.

"Hey."

"Wanna talk? Captain Stanley seems pretty concerned about you."

"What's there to say, Brett? You saw Johnny this morning…you were there."

"Yeah, I was…and it was scary. It's like Dixie always said, you never quite get used to seeing the people you care about sick or injured. Obviously, I don't know Johnny the same way as you do, but something tells me that he wouldn't want you worrying so much about him."

"Probably not, but it's a habit that I've gotten myself into. With all the near misses that Johnny's gotten himself into through the years…"

"He'll be fine, Roy…he's getting the best care possible. And you know Dr. Early will keep you posted on his condition. He's probably sound asleep right now, getting the much needed rest that he needs to recover from all of this."

While Brett was doing his best to quell Roy's fears about the condition of his partner, Johnny was in fact resting fairly comfortably, despite a rather high fever.

"What's his temperature, Lynn?" Joe Early asked.

"103.3."

"Well, at least it's coming down. Why don't you cool him down with a cloth again, that seemed to help."

Going to the sink with a cloth, the nurse ran it under cool water, then returned to Johnny's side with it.

Opening his eyes at the touch of the cool cloth, Johnny moved his eyes to the left, where both Early and Lynn were standing.

"Johnny…how are you doing?"

"Don't know…you tell me," Johnny was able to rasp out.

"You're doing better. Your fever is coming down, a little slower than I'd like, but at least it's going down instead of up."

"Yeah. Roy…how's he doing?"

"Roy?"

"Yeah…haven't seen him."

"He's fine, Johnny. I guess things at the station must be pretty quiet…I haven't seen him for a while. Oh, by the way…Randi says hello. I spoke to her earlier."

"She's…she's…"

"She's fine, Johnny…not sick at all. But she is very concerned about you."

Smiling slightly, Johnny allowed himself to briefly think about the lovely young lady with the pretty smile and beautiful hazel eyes.

"You get more rest, Johnny. The next time I'll see you will be tomorrow. You have a good night."

'''kay," came the soft reply.

Closing his eyes, Johnny was again back to sleep.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

After being called to the scene of a single car accident, Roy and Brett were in the process of getting their victim readied for transport, when Chet caught Roy's eye.

After their victim was safely on the stretcher, and wheeled into the back of the ambulance, Roy nodded at Chet. It was his way of acknowledging that "yes," he'll check on Johnny and let Chet and the others know how Johnny was doing, just as soon as he had returned back to the station.

"Meet you at Rampart, Roy."

Nodding at Brett, he allowed the paramedic to close the doors and give them their customary two taps.

Able to keep his focus on their victim on the ride to the hospital, the first thing that Roy did after he helped get the young man settled in the treatment room, was to go up and check on his partner.

Getting off the elevator, he was greeted by Johnny's nurse, Lynn.

"Roy…" she greeted with a smile.

"Hi. How's Johnny doing? He hasn't gotten worse, has he?"

"No, there's no real change in his condition, but his temperature has gone down a little bit. It's still in the 103 range, but it is coming down."

"Can I see him? This is the first time that I've gotten the chance to stop by, since earlier today."

"Sure…for a few minutes…but he needs his rest."

When Roy entered his partner's room, he was surprised to see Anna sitting in a chair beside the bed.

"Anna…"

"Hi Roy. I got off duty a while ago, but I couldn't bring myself to go home. I figured I'd sit here for a bit, make sure he was doing okay."

"Yeah. Lynn says that Johnny's holding his own…that his fever is even coming down."

"It is." Sensing the awkwardness between them, Anna decided that it would probably be best if she had left for the evening.

Gathering her things, she took a long look down at the sleeping Johnny, and then returned her eyes to Roy.

"I do still love him, Roy. I'd give anything to take everything back."

Roy didn't say anything in response to Anna, he only stood looking at her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Roy. Have a good night."

Watching Anna leave the room, Roy then turned his attention to Johnny. A very dim light was on in the corner of his room, but even in the dimness of the room, he could see just how ill his partner looked, even in sleep.

In a soft tone, Roy spoke to his partner. Not sure whether or not Johnny would be able to hear him, Roy wanted to at least make the effort.

"Johnny…I'm here. I'm sorry that I haven't been here sooner, but this is actually the first chance that I've had to see you since you got here. I know you're getting the best of care here, but even so…please hang in there and fight through this. Hopefully, in a few days you'll be sitting up, laughing, and flirting with all the pretty nurses…I look forward to seeing that."

Surprising Roy, and even startling him, a pair of tired brown eyes opened and looked right at him.

"Roy…" the tired voice softly called out.

Looking back down at the brown eyes, Roy was surprised that Johnny was awake.

"Johnny?"

"Roy…"

"Yeah, it's me, Johnny. You need something?"

"A new head and body…everything hurts."

"Unfortunately, there's not much else that can be done for all of that. I know Dr. Early has things well in hand. You'll be feeling better in a few days."

"Not soon enough. How're the guys doing?" Johnny rasped out.

"They're doing fine. You should stop talking…save your strength."

"Nothin' else to do…bored."

Roy couldn't help but to let out a small laugh.

"Glad you find it so amusing."

"Johnny, I don't find it amusing at all…you really could have gotten into big trouble this morning, if Brett and I hadn't come when we did. I'm just glad you're okay…but what I do find amusing is that you're supposed to be asleep right now, and here you are…talking up a blue streak. Anna said they gave you some medication to help you rest, not too long ago…you should be out right now."

"Sorry to disappoint you," the paramedic replied sarcastically.

Roy rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well…on that note, I guess I'll head out now. Brett is waiting for me downstairs. I'll tell the guys you were asking about them. Go to sleep, Johnny."

Leaving his partner's room, Roy realized that while Johnny wasn't doing so great right now, that he would in fact be okay.

Making his way back down to the ER, he met Brett, who was standing by the base station talking to one of the nurses.

"Hey…how's Johnny doing?" Brett asked his temporary partner.

"He's holding his own. With all the medication that he's on, he was supposed to be sleeping…but instead was talking up a blue streak."

Brett laughed. "That sounds about right…I mean, where Johnny's concerned. You ready to head back to the station now, Roy?"

"Yeah." Handing the keys over to his temporary partner, Roy sighed softly.

"I'm beat…you can drive."

Once the two paramedics got in the squad, Roy got on the radio and made them available.

"LA, Squad 51 available."

"Ten-four, 51," came the reply back from dispatch.

As Brett pulled out of the parking spot, he stole a quick glance over at Roy. In just observing the other man's face, he could easily see the worry that was still on Roy's mind, not to mention how tired he really looked.

"Roy…maybe when we get back, you should just go ahead and turn in."

"Nah…it's still early yet. I'll just kick back and watch some TV with the other guys."

Turning his head to look out of his window, Roy was clearly telling Brett that he was done talking about things, and that he just wanted to be left alone.

When they returned to the station, they were met by an anxious Chet Kelly.

"How is he? Is he going to be okay?" Chet hounded the senior medic.

"He's comfortable…and they're all taking good care of him…he'll be fine…eventually."

"What do you mean by, eventually?" The firefighter asked innocently.

"Well…he'll be feeling pretty lousy for a while, but with proper rest and the medications that he's on…he should be just fine. Like with most illnesses, it'll just take time…that's all I mean, Chet." Sighing softly, Roy looked in the direction of the squad room. "Any coffee left?"

"Yeah, Mike just made some. So Johnny really will be okay?"

"Yes, Chet…I already told you he would be."

Making his way past the questioning firefighter, Roy headed towards the coffee pot.

As Brett started to take a few steps to follow behind his temporary partner, he was stopped by Chet.

"Brett…is Roy telling the truth about Johnny…that he really will be okay? You saw him too, this morning…and Roy said that Johnny was really bad."

"Chet, all I can say is what I know and heard. I really haven't seen Johnny since this morning, so all I have to go on is what Roy told me. He said that although Johnny doesn't feel so good right now…Dr. Early did say that he'd be just fine. Sheesh…for someone who professes not to care a whole lot about Johnny, you sure seem awfully concerned about him."

"Yeah, well…what can I say?" Chet stammered out.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag, Chet…you actually have a big heart." Brett commented with a grin and a wink. "But don't worry…I won't tell anyone else."

Inside, Roy was greeted by his captain.

"Hey there. How's Johnny doing?"

"He's doing a little better, Cap. Dr. Early said that he should be feeling better in a few days. Anything good on TV?"

Hank shook his head.

"Not really. After going through all the channels, Mike and Marco decided on an old movie…Singing in the Rain."

Listening briefly, Roy could catch the strains of Donald O'Connor singing, "Make 'em Laugh."

Looking up from his seat on the couch, Mike called out to Roy.

"Hey Roy…come join us…the good part is still ahead."

Sighing loudly, Roy started to make his way over to the couch where Mike was sitting.

"Might as well," he replied somewhat unenthusiastically.

Looking over at his friend, Marco had a concerned look on his face.

"How's Johnny?"

"He's holding his own, Marco. In fact, he wanted me to tell you guys that he said hello, and was asking about all of you."

Once the men were all settled into watching the movie, the alarm sounded, calling the engine out.

After the other guys had left, Roy got up from the couch. "I guess I will take your advice, Brett."

"Heading off to bed?"

"Yeah…it's been a long stressful day. How about you?"

"I'll be behind you, in a little while. I wanna catch the news for a bit."

Roy nodded his head and walked to the locker room to wash up.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

Back at Rampart, despite the medication that he had been given to help him sleep, Johnny was not able to fall back to sleep. His mind kept replaying the events of the last few months. He and Anna had seemingly been so happy, and he had been ready to propose to her. Somehow he missed the signs. She broke his heart, and he ended up on a cruise to help clear his mind. However, on the cruise two things happened…one, he did clear his mind. He ended up meeting another lovely young lady…Randi. And while he enjoyed her company, and the two of them got along well, Johnny didn't feel the same romantic spark as he had with Anna. The second thing that happened to him on the cruise, was that he ended up getting sick with a near fatal lung infection.

In thinking about these things, Johnny realized that he was quite possibly at a crossroads. In coming close to death, or at least it had felt that way to him…he had some decisions to make on how he wanted to proceed with his life. Did he want to keep looking and hope that another Miss Right was out there for him, or…did he want to settle and see where things with Randi could possibly go…or…did he want to risk everything, and try again with Anna?

In thinking about all of these things, Johnny's head started to spin, and he finally gave in to the sleep that was trying to reclaim him.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

The next morning when the morning tones sounded, Roy was never happier than he was at that moment. It meant that barring any calls for the next hour, that the shift would be over and he'd be able to go back and see how Johnny was doing.

Although he had been satisfied when he had left his partner the night before, that his friend would in fact be okay, where Johnny was concerned, one never quite knew which way things would actually go. Currently Roy was sitting in bed yawning and stretching.

"Coming, Roy?" Captain Stanley asked the senior paramedic.

"Yeah…I'll be right there," he called out in response.

Coming over to his friend, Brett observed the other medic for a few moments.

"You look pretty beat, Roy. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"A little bit. I'm just glad that the shift is almost over."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Going to see Johnny when you get off?"

"That's the plan, why…you wanna come?"

"I'll probably stop by and see him a little later in the day. The reason why I asked…maybe you would be better served to go home, shower up, and get some rest before seeing him. Besides, he'll probably be asleep when you get there."

"Maybe."

"Well…why don't we head out for some of Chet's great coffee," Brett suggested with a grin.

"I do hope you are being sarcastic, Brett."

"What? About Chet's coffee? Yeah, I am. I heard through the grapevine that his coffee is among the worst in the department."

Hearing his friend's comment about the Irishman's coffee making skills, Roy laughed.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

Back at Rampart, Johnny was lying awake in his bed, wishing that someone would just shoot him, and put him out of his misery, he had felt that bad.

Coming in to check on him was his nurse.

Seeing how miserable he looked, she genuinely felt bad for him.

"Johnny?"

Opening his eyes, he looked in her direction, and met her warm smile.

"Hey there. You hanging in there okay?"

Weakly, he answered her. "By a thread."

Looking at her watch she sadly shook her head.

"I wish I could give you something, but it's not time for the next round of your medication yet. It's about time for breakfast, you really need to try to eat something, Johnny."

"Eat? I don't think so…couldn't even think 'bout food."

"Okay. Well, you just try to get some more rest…I'll check on you in a little while."

After the nurse left his room, Johnny returned to his thoughts of feeling sorry for himself.

Tiptoeing into the room so as not to disturb him, Anna walked quietly over to the side of his bed.

Sensing someone else in the room with him, Johnny opened his eyes again.

"You're awake," Anna said with surprise.

"Yeah. What are you doing here so early?"

"I came to see you. I go on shift in a little while. Johnny…I am so sorry. In a way, I feel like you getting sick is my fault. If…if I hadn't done to you what I did…you wouldn't have gone on that cruise, you wouldn't have gotten sick, and…well, we'd still be together. I just…I miss you."

Johnny knew what Anna was saying was true. If it hadn't been for her, he wouldn't have gone on that cruise and gotten so sick. He'd also be happily planning his wedding to Anna. But instead, he had no fiancee, and he was lying in the hospital feeling sick and miserable.

"Anna…please. I can't think about all of that right now…I feel too lousy."

"Okay. But will you promise me one thing…please?"

Through his haze, Johnny was still able to hear the pleading in her voice.

"What's that?"

"Will you think about giving me a second chance? I want you back…badly."

"Anna…"

"I'll go. But just know that I still love you, and I will always love you."

Bending down, Anna gave Johnny a gentle kiss on his lips.

"I'll see you later, Johnny. Get some rest."

After Anna left, Johnny sighed softly and closed his eyes. Rest? That's what he'd been trying to do, but people kept coming in.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**


	6. Chapter 6

**What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (chapter 6)**

When 8AM finally came, and A-shift handed off to B-shift, Roy quickly changed.

Sitting on the bench in the locker room, he was putting on his shoes.

"Roy…"

Looking up at hearing his name being called, he found himself looking into the anxious face of Chet Kelly.

"Yes Chet, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering what you were doing now."

"Now? I'm putting on my shoes," Roy said without thinking.

"No kidding. I can see that. I mean when you leave here."

"I'm going home for a while, then I'll be heading over to see Johnny. Why? You actually concerned enough to go see him?"

When Roy made that last comment, he was actually joking. He knew that Chet had been very concerned about Johnny during the entire shift.

"Of course I'm concerned about Johnny," Chet replied in an almost hurt tone.

"I'm just kidding, Chet…of course I know you're concerned about him…we all are. If you want to meet me over there later, that would be fine. I'm sure that Johnny could use the company. I'll call you when I'm ready to go over to see him."

"Okay. Johnny IS going to be okay, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he will be…eventually. I gotta go. I'll call you later."

When Roy got out to the parking lot, he looked over at the empty spot next to his car…a space that Johnny's Rover would have been parked in, had the paramedic been on duty.

"Partner, I told Chet and the other guys that you'd be okay…please don't make a liar out of me."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

Arriving a few hours later to see her father, Randi was in the hospital cafeteria having a cup of coffee with him.

"How's Johnny doing, dad…any news?" Asked Randi, the worry unmistakable in her voice.

"Last I heard, he was stable. You really like that young man, don't you, sweetheart?"

"I do…I don't know if he feels the same way about me…but I am concerned about him. Back in his apartment he was so sick, and he wouldn't let me call for help. All I could think about was him dying right there in his bed…and me not being able to do anything to help him."

Listening to his daughter talk, the doctor was able to get a sense of how much Johnny had really come to mean to her.

"Well…I do believe he'll be fine. I'm sure he's not feeling to good right now, but in a few days he should start to feel better."

"Really?" Randi asked in disbelief.

"Yes…really. Johnny's a very strong young man…he'll pull through."

"I hope so. Listen, I need to ask you a question. You probably don't know the answer to it, but I need to ask it anyway."

"Shoot."

Once Randi knew she had her father's undivided attention, she asked her next question.

"Well…do you happen to know much about the status of Johnny and Anna's relationship?"

"Status? As far as I know they broke up before Johnny went on the cruise…you know that already."

"Yeah, but it seems to me that Anna still holds a torch for him."

"The two of them were very close at one time, and I know Anna still cares a lot about Johnny. Just because a couple may have broken up, it doesn't mean that you can't still care about one another. What's the problem, a little jealous?"

Randi didn't even have to answer that, it was written all over her face.

"It's ridiculous, I know."

Hearing his name paged over the PA system, Dr. McGrath got up from his chair.

"I'm sorry, honey…I have to go. I'll see you later…and don't worry about Johnny, I told you that he'd be fine."

Bending down, he gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek, and left.

Watching as her father walked away, Randi couldn't help but to think about how Johnny was doing.

Deep in thought, she didn't hear Dixie coming up to her.

"Hi, Randi." Not getting a response, the now nursing supervisor tried again. "Randi…"

Looking up when she realized that someone was talking to her, she smiled in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Dixie. Hello."

"May I join you, or do you want to be alone?"

"No, please…sit down and join me. My father just left…he got called away."

Sitting down with her cup of coffee, Dixie observed the young woman for a few moments.

"I recognize that look," Dixie replied with a small smile.

"What look?" Randi asked baffled by Dixie's comment.

"The look that you have on your face right now. It has something to do with Johnny, doesn't it?"

"Johnny? How can you tell?"

"Because I've seen that look on the face of many a person before…the young ladies that he's gone out with, as well as on the faces of his many friends. It's the look of exasperation that only John Gage can cause. What's the problem?"

"I guess mostly I'm just worried about him."

"And the other part?" Dixie asked with the curiosity of a concerned older sister.

"The other part? The other part…is that I'm a bit confused…and maybe even a little bit jealous."

"Anna?" Dixie offered.

"Is it that obvious?"

"To me it is, Randi. You have to understand that the two of them were almost engaged. They meant a lot to each other at one time."

"And now?"

"Anna still cares about him…she always will. As for Johnny…he's in no shape to be thinking about this sort of stuff. It's the furthest thing from his mind. Right now all he knows is that he is feeling miserable. He has no control over who comes to see him."

"So what should I do?"

"Just be a friend…that's what he needs right now. When he's feeling better, then he'll think about things, I'm sure."

Randi nodded her head. "I can do that…be a friend that is."

Dixie smiled at the younger woman.

"Good. And then if anything beyond that was meant to be…let it happen naturally. I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Right now the most important thing is getting Johnny healthy again."

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

After showering and catching a nap, Roy was sitting in the kitchen eating a late breakfast, and talking with Joanne.

"I gather you're going to be heading over to see Johnny soon?"

Roy nodded his head. "Yeah. I'm going to give Chet a call before I leave. He wanted to visit Johnny with me."

"Chet must be really worried about Johnny."

"He is…we all are, Jo," said Roy with a sigh.

"He'll be okay, won't he?"

"I suppose. The doctors all said he would be, but anything is possible. This lung infection he has…it's serious. When you start messing around with a person's breathing…well, it's not good."

After finishing up his breakfast, he called Chet to tell him that he was leaving for Rampart. Once he was off the phone, he gave Joanne a kiss.

"Tell Johnny that I said hello, and that I hope he feels better soon."

"I will. I'll see you in a couple hours."

After giving his wife a kiss, Roy took his keys from the front hall table, and went out the front door to his car.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

As soon as Chet had received Roy's call, he was out the door. He was very anxious to see Johnny. Ever since he had heard that his good friend was in such bad shape, he had a dreaded feeling that something really bad was going to happen to him.

He and Roy had agreed to meet in the ER. Chet was so anxious to see his ailing friend, that he had actually beaten Roy to the hospital. Arriving first, he was now talking to Dr. Morton, who was giving him an overview of Johnny's condition.

"But he's going to be okay, Doc…right? I mean this is Johnny we're talking about."

Waiting for the doctor to respond, Chet was ready to hang on his every word.

"He should be fine, Chet…however, he does have a bit of a recovery ahead of him. He has a very serious lung infection."

"And he'll be able to return to work, right?"

"Eventually."

Just then, Roy walked into the ER. Spotting Chet talking to the doctor, he went over to them.

"Roy…" greeted the doctor.

"Hi Doc. How's Johnny doing? He hasn't gotten any worse, has he?"

"No…no worse. He's holding his own. You guys can go up to see him, but keep the visit short…he needs his rest."

Nodding in understanding, the two men had started to walk away, when they were met by Anna.

"Roy…Chet…"

"Anna…" Roy returned.

"Going up to see Johnny?"

"Yeah. Dr. Morton said that he is stable."

"That's what I hear. I…I saw him earlier this morning. He's not feeling too good, but at least he's doing better now, than how he was when you and Brett had brought him in yesterday morning."

"That's good. Well, I guess we'll see you later."

Anna nodded. While she knew that both men were very upset about Johnny, and the current condition that he was in…she also knew that they were both not so happy with her perceived part in his illness…as unintentional as it was.

"Okay. See you on your way out."

As they continued on to the elevator, Chet snuck a quick peak over his shoulder.

"She's lucky that she's a woman. If she had been a man…I would have…"

"Chet…cool it," Roy practically ordered. "We're all upset that Johnny is so sick. And I know Anna feels bad, too. Just let it go…for Johnny's sake. I don't want him seeing you all agitated…he doesn't need that."

Sighing loudly, Chet said nothing else he just followed Roy onto the elevator.

When the elevator stopped at Johnny's floor, and they got off, they were greeted by a flurry of activity, followed by the announcement over the PA system.

"Code Blue…room 218…code blue…room 218."

Not quite remembering what Johnny's actual room number was, Roy grew scared…not to mention how Chet was feeling.

"Roy…?"

Running to Johnny's room, the two men were both thankful that the code blue in question was not Johnny. Looking inside, they were relieved to see their good friend lying in bed, seemingly comfortable…or at least comfortable enough not to cause too much worry.

Entering quietly, they were surprised to see that Johnny's eyes were open.

"Hey…you guys made it," Johnny greeted softly.

"Yeah, we did. How are you doing?"

Licking his dry lips, Johnny tried to get some more air in his lungs to talk some more.

"Hangin' in there. You guys look upset. I'm alright, aren't I?"

"Yeah. It's just that as we got off the elevator, there was a code blue. Chet and I…"

"Thought it was me," Johnny replied with a tired grin.

"Yeah…but we're happy that it wasn't."

"Have a seat. I'm good for a little while. They gave me some meds a little while ago…with a little luck, I'll hopefully be falling asleep soon."

"That's fine, Johnny. Morton told us to keep the visit short. Any other visitors lately?"

"Anna was here this morning. She wants me back," replied the paramedic unemotionally.

Chet looked at Johnny curiously.

"Please tell me that you're not actually considering taking her back, man? Not after how she treated you…"

"Chet…I feel too lousy to even think about that stuff. Besides…"

Roy and Chet both sat looking at their friend, waiting for him to continue, when a light of understanding came to Roy.

"Randi?"

"I guess, though she's more like a friend than anything else. Maybe…I'm just destined to be alone."

Roy shook his head.

"No, Johnny…you'll find the right lady one of these days. When you're feeling better, you'll be able to sort things out a bit."

"I guess. Chet…"

Hearing Johnny say his name, Chet looked intently at his friend.

"Yeah?"

"You keepin' everyone in line for me?"

"Trying to."

Feeling a spasm of pain in his chest, Johnny squeezed his eyes closed.

Seeing the look of pain on his partner's face, Roy immediately stood up.

"Johnny…what's wrong?"

Once the spasm had passed, Johnny again opened his eyes.

"It's okay…it passed," he rasped out.

"What is it that passed? You're obviously hurting."

"I'm fine…really. It just comes and goes. I just need to sleep. Don't mean to chase you guys away…"

"It's okay, Johnny. We'll come back later. Get some sleep."

Patting Johnny's knee, Roy turned towards the door.

"Yeah…feel better, Johnny. I…I have some new jokes to try out."

"'kay," Johnny replied, barely able to keep his eyes open.

Looking down at his longtime buddy, Chet genuinely felt terrible that Johnny had to go through this.

Once the two men were out in the hallway, they both sighed.

"Is he really going to be okay, Roy? He really looks like he's in bad shape."

Roy knew that Johnny would ultimately be just fine, but at the moment, seeing how much discomfort his best friend was currently in, he started to have some doubts about it. However, not wanting to upset Chet, he decided to answer positively.

"I know he looks bad right now, Chet…but he'll be fine. Both Early and Morton said that it would take a few days before Johnny started to really improve. We just have to be patient…and stay positive."

Roy only hoped that he would be able to follow his own advice.

"Hey…what do ya say we go down to the cafeteria and get some coffee?"

Chet nodded his head. He really didn't want to go home yet…and he also wanted to see Johnny again before he did leave.

On the way to the elevator, when Roy spotted one of the nurses, he told her about Johnny's recent episode.


	7. Chapter 7

**What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (chapter 7)**

"He seems like he's in some pain or something. He did say that he just got his meds not too long ago…so I'm not sure what you can do for him."

Smiling warmly, the nurse nodded her head.

"I'll check on him. Thanks for the heads up."

Continuing on to the elevator, Roy and Chet both hoped that Johnny would in fact be okay.

Back in his room, Johnny tried to close his eyes and fall asleep, but the heaviness that he was feeling in his chest was making it nearly impossible…even with the meds that he had been given only a half hour or so earlier.

Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes, thinking that maybe Roy and Chet had returned. When he saw that it was one of the nurses standing there, he was relieved. He hated for his friends to see him in such sorry shape.

"Johnny…your friend told me that you were in some pain. Are you?"

Johnny knew he needed to be honest about how he was really feeling, but he also knew that if he did in fact admit to how badly he really felt, that there was a potential for more poking, prodding, and x-rays.

"I'm okay…just tired."

The nurse stood there with her arms crossed in front of her, and looking down at her patient with a raised eye brow. She knew that Johnny had a history of downplaying his symptoms, and was even warned by the other nurses that he would in fact try to do so.

"I'm not buying it, Johnny. Your friend really seemed convinced that you weren't doing so well. So…please level with me…for your own good."

Johnny wanted to take a deep breath and exhale, but he was in too much pain to do so.

"My chest…it really hurts. I have these waves of pain…"

"Okay. Just try to relax. I'm going to call your doctor…you should hopefully be resting comfortably real soon. I'll be right back."

Johnny didn't even watch as the nurse left his room…he had his eyes closed.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

Down in the cafeteria, Roy and Chet were sitting at a table, drinking coffee when Randi approached them.

"Roy?" she called out softly.

Looking up, Roy smiled. "Randi…hi there. Care to join us?"

"Thank you…if you don't mind."

"Not at all. Randi McGrath, I would like you to meet Chet Kelly. He's one of the firefighters that Johnny and I work with."

Smiling graciously, Randi shook the other man's hand. "Nice to meet you, Chet. Although…I'd be lying if I said that I didn't know you."

Looking curiously at the young woman, Chet couldn't help but to have his jaw hanging open.

"You…you know who I am?"

"Yes. On the cruise…Johnny told me all about you. I'm glad that he has such wonderful friends."

Returning Randi's warm smile, Chet shrugged his shoulders. "The best."

"I take it that you two just came from seeing Johnny."

"Yeah," Roy replied, nodding his head at the same time.

"How's he doing?" The young woman asked with worry in her voice.

"Not so good. He tried to put one over on us about how he was feeling, but he didn't get away with it."

"What do you mean?" she again asked with worry.

"He seemed to be in some substantial pain. I told the nurse about it, as we left."

"He IS quite stubborn isn't he?"

"The most stubborn person I know, Randi. How are you doing? Feeling okay?" Roy knew that Randi being on the same cruise as Johnny, that there was some potential for her to develop an illness, as well.

"Yeah, I'm fine…our cabins on the ship were on opposite sides. Or I suppose I would have gotten sick too. I just wish that it wasn't him who had gotten so ill. I hate seeing him like this."

As the three of them were talking downstairs in the cafeteria, Dr. Morton had returned upstairs to examine his patient.

"John…what's going on with you?"

Opening his brown eyes a crack, Johnny tried to lie still so as not to aggravate his already sore and exhausted body.

"Hurts…" he rasped out, "bad…"

Morton acknowledged the nurse. Knowing that Johnny had a knack for downplaying the severity of his symptoms, he became quite concerned when the paramedic used the word "bad".

"Let's get some vitals on him."

Seeing the amount of pain that Johnny had appeared to be in, the doctor's concern became increased.

"Doctor, the vitals are…"

Hearing the numbers, Mike Morton shook his head.

"Not good. I want you to call for a portable x-ray…and have some blood drawn."

Nodding her head, the nurse got right on it, leaving the room to make the arrangements from the nurses' station.

"John, I want you to try to relax. We're going to check things out a little more…see what else might be going on with you. I promise to give you some relief as soon as we get these tests taken care of. On a scale of 1-10, how bad is the pain?"

"A…a…bout 9 or so," Johnny was barely able to whisper.

"Okay…hang in there. I'll turn up the oxygen flow. In the meantime, try to slow your breathing down. Is Roy still here…I know he was here earlier?"

"Don't know…left a while ago. Hurts…"

Patting Johnny's shoulder, Morton tried to be reassuring to the younger man.

"Take it easy. I'll be right back."

Leaving the room, the doctor met the nurse in the hallway.

"Leslie, any idea if Roy DeSoto is still in the hospital?"

"I'm not sure. He didn't say. I called radiology for a portable…and one of the lab techs will be up to draw some blood. Will Johnny be okay?"

"I'm not sure. It would appear that his lung infection is getting worse. He may also have fluid in the lungs. Stay with him…I need to track down Roy."

Going over to the phone at the nurses' desk, Morton called down to the ER.

"ER, Nurse Goodwin here," answered the voice on the other end.

"Anna, it's Dr. Morton. I'm up in John Gage's room. Can you do me a favor and see if you can track down Roy Desoto? I know he was here earlier. I need to speak to him."

"Of course. Is Johnny okay?" She asked, knowing that if he had been, then there would be no need for her to track down Roy.

"No…he's not doing so well. Find Roy and ask him to come to Johnny's floor."

Putting down the phone, Anna's heart fell to the floor. If anything had happened to Johnny, she would never be able to forgive herself for her role in his demise…and neither would Roy or the other men who Johnny worked with.

Deciding to take care of this herself, she headed to the cafeteria, fairly sure that that's where Roy and Chet would both still be.

Roy, Chet, and Randi were in the middle of their conversation, when Anna came over to them.

"Roy…Dr. Morton would like to see you upstairs."

"What happened? Johnny…he…he's…not…" Roy asked, the color starting to drain from his face.

"He's not doing so well. Dr. Morton wanted to talk to you about it. He's waiting upstairs by Johnny's room."

Getting up, Roy started to say something to the other two, but was cut off by Chet.

"I'm coming with you, Roy. This is Johnny we're talking about…he's my friend too."

Randi wanted to go with them, but felt that for the time being, it wasn't her place to be so involved with the situation.

"You guys go…I'll be around."

Nodding, Roy and Chet took off to see Dr. Morton.

By the time they got upstairs, Johnny was being x-rayed.

"Doc, what's going on? Anna told us that Johnny isn't doing so well."

"No, he's not. He's having a lot of chest pain…and is having increased difficulty breathing."

Hearing the news, Chet started to jump to conclusions.

"He's not having a heart attack, is he?"

"No, Chet. I suspect fluid in the lungs. It mimics some of the same symptoms as a heart attack. He's being x-rayed now. Once I see the pictures and his newest lab results, we'll have a better idea of what's happening. I just wanted to keep you abreast of the situation. We're probably moving him up to the ICU."

"Do whatever it takes, Dr. Morton…I just want Johnny to be okay."

"I know…we all do, Roy. You can go relax in the waiting area down the hall. I'll keep you posted on his condition."

Back inside Johnny's room, the x-ray tech had just finished taking the pictures of Johnny's chest.

Noting his patient struggling, he patted Johnny's shoulder reassuringly.

"I'll get Dr. Morton to come and help you. Hang in there, buddy."

Pushing the portable x-ray machine out of Johnny's room, the technician was met by a very worried Morton.

"I need these pictures stat, Adam."

"I'll get them back to you as soon as I can. And by the way, the poor guy is really struggling with his breathing."

"I know. Just get them to me fast," Morton ordered, more than replied.

Going back into Johnny's room, he noted how labored Johnny's breathing was, as well as his increased paleness, and the fact that Johnny's temperature had once again shot up.

"Johnny…"

When there was no answer, the doctor took out his pen light and checked his eyes, relieved when there was finally a response.

"Help…"came a barely audible reply.

"I know…just take it easy."

Again listening to Johnny's breathing, he was more distressed by the results than he had been even a short while earlier.

Getting on the phone, he personally made arrangements for Johnny's transfer to the ICU.

"John…we're going to take you up to the ICU in a few minutes. We need to keep a closer eye on your condition. As soon as we get you settled up there, I promise to make you more comfortable."

Hearing Morton say the word "comfortable", Johnny was relieved, though he only hoped that he could hang on that long.

Out in the waiting area, a very worried Roy and Chet were waiting anxiously to again hear from Dr. Morton.

"It sounds so bad, Roy. He…he is going to make it, isn't he? I mean we can't lose Johnny over something so dumb like this, can we?"

Roy wanted to sooth Chet's worries, but at the same time, he didn't want to lie to his friend.

"It IS bad, Chet. Johnny's been in some tough situations before, but this time…"

Roy let his words trail off, which hit Chet like a ton of bricks.

"Shouldn't we call the guys? Cap, Mike, and Marco would want to know…and Joanne too."

"You're right. I'll call as soon as soon as we know exactly what's going on."

When Johnny's x-rays came back about 15 minutes later, Dr. Morton was notified immediately. He left to look at the pictures, as Leslie the nurse returned to Johnny's side.

Returning to the ER, the doctor went into an empty treatment room to look at the pictures.

"Mike…need some help?" asked Joe Early, as he entered the room, after seeing the younger doctor go inside.

"Sure…take a look…John Gage's chest films."

Looking at the x-rays as they were put up on the viewer, the two doctors were left without little doubt as to what was going on with the ailing paramedic upstairs.

"Looks a lot like a case of pulmonary edema...or that he sure is headed in that direction."

Agreeing with his older colleague, Mike nodded his head.

"Yeah…that's what I was afraid of. I'm going to start him on some antibiotics, and monitor him very closely to see if we need to drain his lungs. I already made arrangements to have him transferred him up to the ICU."

"Good thinking. Keep me posted, Mike. If you need help…"

"Thanks, Joe," the African American doctor replied, as he took off his glasses and wiped his tired eyes.

Returning to Johnny's floor, Dr. Morton was met by the two anxiously waiting firefighters as he got off the elevator.

"Dr. Morton, what did the x-rays say?"

Letting out a deep breath, the doctor pulled them to the side.

"It's not good, Roy. Looks like the beginning of pulmonary edema. We're going to treat this as aggressively as we can…hopefully we'll get it under control in time. Excuse me, I have to get your partner ready for his transfer to the ICU."

Meeting the two orderlies outside of Johnny's room, Dr. Morton helped push the waiting gurney inside.

"John, we're going to take you up to the ICU now…let us do all the work."

Nodding his head, the doctor gave the orderlies the signal to go ahead and transfer Johnny to the gurney.

Once the paramedic was safely moved, and a blanket was put over him, his IV was removed from the pole beside his bed, and held aloft by the nurse. His O2 was also switched to a portable unit. Once Morton was sure that everything was in place, they wheeled Johnny out of the room.

Lying on the gurney, Johnny had his eyes closed, wishing that they would just put him out of his misery. He was feeling horrible…everything hurt. He was feeling both hot and cold at the same time…and was having trouble breathing. Being a paramedic and having a good knowledge of the medical field, he had a sense of what was going on with him…and he was actually starting to get scared.

As Johnny was pushed out into the hallway, he was met by an extremely worried Roy and Chet.

"Johnny…I'm here, partner…just hang in there…you're going to be just fine."

Wanting to respond to his partner's words of encouragement, Johnny just didn't have the strength to do so, and just lay there still.

"Come on…let's move. Roy…call the guys…let them know what's going on."

Hearing the doctor tell Roy to call the others, made Chet realize how serious Johnny's condition really was.

Watching as his best friend was wheeled away and onto the elevator, a feeling of extreme uneasiness came over Roy. With his focus still on the elevator, even as the doors closed, he was startled when he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder.

"Roy…" called a soft voice.

Turning around, Roy found himself looking into the concerned face of Dixie McCall.

"Dixie…how…how did you hear about Johnny?"

"Joe Early called me. He wanted me to check on you guys. How are you doing?"

"How…how are we doing? Worried…scared… They just took him up to the ICU."

"I heard that too. Anything I can get you guys?"

"Unless you can make Johnny all better…I guess not," Roy replied sadly.

Looking sympathetically at her longtime friend, Dixie wanted so badly to hug him and tell him that Johnny would be just fine, but she couldn't promise that, so why say it?

"Roy…"

Cutting the nursing supervisor off, Roy nodded his head.

"Yeah, I know. They're doing everything they can for him…he's in good hands…and has lots of things going for him…he's young, in good physical condition, and otherwise healthy, is that what you were going to say, Dix?"

Dixie nodded her head. "Yeah…that's exactly what I was going to say. Listen, you guys know that they're going to take good care of him…"

"There's no doubt about that…just a doubt as to whether or not he can overcome all of this. Pulmonary edema, Dix…"

"I know it's serious, Roy…but Johnny's a fighter."

"I appreciate the support, but right now we really need to call the other guys. As far as they know, Johnny's still doing okay."

"Of course. Why don't you come to my office…you'll have more privacy there."

Agreeing to Dixie's suggestion, Roy and Chet both followed her.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE **

In the ICU, Johnny was settled into his new accommodations. He was immediately hooked up to a heart monitor and given an EKG to see how his cardiac condition was holding up. Due to the fluid buildup in his lungs, Johnny would be given diuretics to help with that, so a foley catheter was inserted as well. Other medications, such as antibiotics for the lung infection, and pain medication to help keep him comfortable was also administered…he was in for a long haul.

Once all the monitors were hooked up, meds given, and vitals taken, Dr. Morton left his patient, content that they were doing everything that they could for Johnny. He was currently in serious condition, but stable.

Back in Dixie's office, Roy was making the necessary phone calls. The first person he called was Hank Stanley.

"Stanley residence," answered the voice of Hank's wife Suzanne.

"Hi there, Suzanne…it's Roy DeSoto."

"Roy…hello. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine…"

"I heard about Johnny. How is he doing?" The woman asked with concern.

"That's why I am calling. I really need to talk to Hank…if I may."

Sensing the serious tone of the paramedic's voice, Suzanne knew that the situation was not a particularly good one.

"Of course…let me get him."

A few moments later Roy heard the anxious voice of his captain.

"Roy…what's going on? Is it Johnny?"

"Yeah…he's…he's not doing so good right now. They just moved him to the ICU. He has something called pulmonary edema…a buildup of fluid around his lungs. Dr. Morton told me that I should call you guys…let you all know what's going on."

"Is it that bad, Roy? Johnny, he could…" Hank couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

"Yeah…anything is possible. All I know is that he's in bad shape right now."

"Okay. I'll call Mike and Marco. I take it Chet is with you?"

"Yeah. Thanks for doing that…I appreciate it. I still have to call Joanne and break the news to her."

"No problem, Roy…consider it done. Anything else I can do for you?"

"No, I think we're okay…thanks. If any of you guys plan on coming in…come up to the ICU. I'm not sure what the visiting hours are, but Chet and I will be in the waiting area on that floor."

"Will do. I'll see you soon, pal."

Getting off the phone, Roy exhaled loudly.

"Is he coming?" Chet asked anxiously.

"Yeah. He's going to call the others. I just have to call Joanne."


End file.
